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STATUE OF LA FAYETTE 

IN THE COURT OF THE LOUVRE, PARIS: BY PAUL W. BARTLETT 
Presented to France by the School Children of America, July 4th, (900 



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Marie Joseph PaulYvesRoch Gilbert Dumotier 

Marquis de La Fayette 

major-<;knerai. in the service ok amebica /no 

NOBl.ESr rATRlOT OK THE KRENCH REVOLUTION 

With Illustrations of the 

La Fayette Vattern of Sterling Silver 

Tableware 






TOWLE MFG. COMPANY 

SILVERS Mr/'HS 
NEWBURYPORT ;: MASSACHUSETTS 

Chicago, Illinois 
42 Madison St. 

New York City 
17 Maiden 1-ane 







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BUST OF LA FAYETTE IN THE CAPITOL AT RICHMOND 

EXECUTED BY HOUDON FOR THE VIRGINIA ASSEMBLY 

A duplicate presented to France was prominent in the French Kevolution 
Reproduced by permission 



Compiled and arranged by George P. Tilton, of the Towle 
Manufacturing Company, of material derived from the following 
publications, supplemented by local study of the scenes included: 

Memoirs and Correspondence of General La Fayette. 

Published by his Family 
The Marquis de La Fayette in the American Revolution. 

Charlemagne Tower, Jr. 

The History of the French Revolution. Louis Adolphe Thiers 

Memoirs of the Marquis de La Fayette. Frederic Butler, A.M. 

Field Book of the American Revolution. Benson J. Lossing 

Fund Publications of the Maryland Historical Society. 13-32 

Life of General La Fayette. Bayard Tuckerman 

The Household of the La Fayettes. Edith Sichel 

The French Revolution. Thomas Carlyle 

The Magazine of American History. 1881-1889 

The North American Review. 1824 



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* l»AnT OF THE PALACE 



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Amid the sophistry and prodigality of aristocratic France of the waning 
eighteenth century, La Fayette conceived an ideal of noble humanity, and at the 
threshold of his life consecrated his efforts and his resources to its realization. 
It has been given to few men of like impulses to exercise fuller opportunities or 
ampler means, and none have excelled him in fidelity and constancy. 

Louis XIV debauched France, Louis XV flaunted profligacy before its crushed 
but murmuring people, and Louis XVI paid the penalty of this heritage of extrav- 
agance and oppression, in an era of passion and violence unparalleled, as it was 
unexampled, in the world's history. Such was the background and the field from 
which La Fayette emerged at the age of nineteen years to espouse the cause of 
American freedom, and to which, a few years later, he returned to become the 
chief actor in the momentous events leading to the French revolution. 

Harie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, 
was bom September 6th, 1757, at the Chateau de Chavaniac in Auvergne, the 
home of his mother, to which she had retired while her husband, Michel Louis 
Christophe Roch Gilbert Du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, fought for France in 
tiie Seven Years' War. The Marquis de La Fayette, Colonel of Grenadiers under 
Marshal de Broglie, was killed in the battle of Minden at the age of twenty-five, a 
few weeks after his son was born. The young marquis was reared at Chavaniac 
and educated in the accomplishments and graces that were the highest aim of the 
courtier of that period, but the heroic strain in his character early asserted itself, 
and he dwelt more on the hope of encountering and conquering the wild beasts of 
the neighborhood than of shining at Versailles. At the age of twelve he was sent 
to the College du Plessis at Paris and soon afterward was transferred to the Acad- 
emy at Versailles and made an officer in the Mousquetaires Noirs, which on review 
days took him from the schoolroom to the active command of men. 

Soon after he left home his mother died, and he became possessed of the 
large fortune of her family, with an income suflficient to determine a less serious 
character on a life of idleness and ease. He was, however, unattracted by the 
vicious pleasures then the fashion, and became the suitor of Mile. Adrienne de 
Noailles, daughter of the Due d'Ayen and granddaughter of the Due and Mare- 
chal de Noailles. The Noailles family was of the highest rank and character, and 
its history amid the vanities and corruption of this period and the trials of the 
Revolution endures as a monument of Christianity, love and gentleness. The Due 
d'Ayen was much in favor of the proposal, but the Duchess, who had made the 
training and instruction of her five daughters the chief object of her life, was op- 
posed to the match because of what seemed to her traits of impetuousness in the 
Marquis engendered by the imperfect surveillance of his guardians and the bane- 
ful possibilities of his great wealth. 

This divergence of desires caused a serious though temporary estrangement 
between the parents, which the Duke relieved by receding from his position, 
while, having discovered during the interval the fundamental virtues of La Fay- 
ette's character, Madame d'Ayen withdrew her objections. Mile. Adrienne was 
not immediately informed of the proposed alliance, but she was brought much into 
the company of her suitor and fell sincerely in love with him, so that when she 



was told of the arrangement she was overjoyed, and the marriage soon took place. 
The young couple — aged respectively sixteen and fourteen — lived two years hap- 
pily with the d'Ayens, attending occasionally at the DuBarry-ruled court of Louis 
XV, and, after his unmourned death, participating in the festivities of Louis XVI 
and Marie Antoinette. The latter soon gathered about her the flower of the 
young nobility, and formed an exclusive set that excited the jealousy and antag- 
onism of the older courtiers, who prevailed upon the king to suppress their inno- 
vations. The La Fayettes were of this coterie, and the Marquis was devoted to 
the beautiful and virtuous Queen, who in turn adopted him as a favorite, a cir- 
cumstance which is noteworthy in view of her later attitude toward him when he 
was forced to stand between royalty and the infuriated people. 

The Marquis and his wife were now settled in a new home, gladdened by the 
birth of a daughter, and the Noailles family sought to establish their son-in-law 
at Court by procuring for him a place in the service of the Due de Provence, the 
King's brother, afterward Louis XVIII ; but La Fayette had no fancy for such a 
life, and took occasion at a masked ball, when he could appear impersonal, 
although he knew that he was recognized, to offend the Duke by liberal opinions 
and a contemptuous rejoinder, which destroyed any possibility of further asso- 
ciation. Soon after this he joined his regiment at Metz, an environment more 
suited to the growing taciturnity which marked the birth of his definite espousal 
of liberty, than the crowding gayeties of Versailles. 

It was at an officers' dinner at Metz, given by the Comte de Broglie, com- 
mandant of the garrison, in honor of the visit of the Duke of Gloucester, in the 
fall of 1776 that La Fayette formed the resolution of volunteering in the cause of 
freedom in the new world across the Atlantic. The Duke had been banished by 
his brother, George III, for marrying the Countess Waldegrave, and being there- 
fore disposed to criticise the British policy, he related, with a degree of sympa- 
thy, news of the uprising in America, the evacuation of Boston by the King's 
troops, and the declaration of independence. The officers who listened were 
imbued with the abstract philosophy of free government, at that time the fashion 
in the brilliant salons of Paris, and the general hope was expressed that the rebels 
would triumph. To them, as to their confreres at the capital, freedom was an 
idea called up chiefly by Jean Jacques Rousseau in his "Contrat Social," a treat- 
ise on free government, which had gained the attention of philosophers of every 
station, and was arousing the humbler classes to an appreciation of their wrongs. 
To La Fayette it was the embodiment of the deep feelings which had stirred him 
from childhood, and had clouded his nature with a mystery inexplicable to his 
associates and even to himself. The knowledge of a struggling people, gained so 
casually, precipitated in his mind the nebulae of unrest, and he went to the Duke 
and privately declared his intention of going to America to fight in its cause. 

This resolution was firm, though so abruptly made, and he immediately took 
steps to accomplish it. He imparted it gradually to members of his family, all 
of whom strongly opposed what seemed a mere boyish adventure. Mme. de La 
Fayette was at first heartbroken at the thought of his absence when their second 
child would be born, and of the personal danger which he must incur, but realiz- 
ing the depth of his purpose, and being fully in sympathy with his noble aims, she 
repressed her sorrow for his absence and encouraged him in his purpose. Her 
mother, the Duchess d'Ayen, also, from her ovra high conception of duty to one's 
principles, was easily brought to acquiesce, and his brother-in-law, the Vicomte 
de Noailles, and cousin, the Comte de Segur, were enthusiastic to accompany him. 
The one member of the family who was implacable in his opposition was the Due 
d'Ayen, but this, while a matter of regret to La Fayette, was not discouraging. 
He sought Silas Deane, the American representative at Paris, and negotiated with 
him through Baron de Kalb, a French officer of German origin, who had been 
employed to visit America to report on the political situation, and who also was 
now desirous of enlisting in its cause. The affair was progressing favorably and 
Deane had promised La Fayette a commission as major-general, when it was in- 
terrupted by an order from the King formally forbidding La Fayette to depart. 

France, as a penalty of defeat in its alliance with Austria in the Seven Years' 
War against England, had forfeited to the latter its Canadian provinces, and 
secretly desired to strike a blow at its hereditary enemy, but was deterred from 
doing this openly by the depleted state of its finances, which, through the reck- 




- HUGER MANSION-PROSPECT HILL PLANTATION 

NEAR GEORGETOWN, SOUTH CAROLINA 

less extravagance of previous reigns had been brought to the verge of bank- 
ruptcy. The Ministry saw in the resistance of the American Colonists a hope of 
punishment for England, but as it was professedly neutral it could not counte- 
nance open aid of the cause. It did, however, provide the working field for the 
American agents and commissioners, promise them personal security, and secretly 
furnish a large sum of money, which, in the form of an indirect loan, went to 
purchase ships and supplies for the insurgents, as they were called. Lord Stor- 
mont, the English Ambassador at Paris, kept a very watchful eye on all these 
movements, and succeeded in thwarting many plans, as of course hLs specific pro- 
tests required recognition. It was because of this necessity of seemingly strict 
neutrality that La Fayette and his family, whose station was such that they were 
liable to be deemed representative of the Government, were peremptorily forbid- 
den to take part in the uprising, while no hindrance was placed on the movements 
of many other officers of the French army who volunteered. 

The result of the royal ban was to frustrate the plans of the Vicomte de 
Noailles and the Comte de Segur, who were less independently situated, and to 
impose greater difficulties and secrecy upon La Fayette. The Comte de Broglie, 
to whom, as an old and experienced friend of his family. La Fayette had early 
appealed for aid, had at first strongly endeavored to dissuade him with argu- 
ments as to the hopelessness of the American cause, adding: — "I have seen your 
uncle die in the wars of Italy, I have witnessed your father's death at Minden, 
and I will not be accessory to the ruin of the last remaining branch of the family." 
He however promised not to betray the plan and later he so far relented that La 
Fayette wrote : — "Amongst my discreet confidants, I owe much to M. du Boismar- 
tin, secretary of the Count de Broglie, and to the Count de Broglie himself, whose 
affectionate heart, when all his efforts to turn me from this project had proven in 
vain, entered into my views with even paternal tenderness." 

As Benjamin Franklin had, at this time, arrived in Paris and entered upon 
the career of wonderful popularity that was destined to accomplish so much for 
his country's cause, La Fayette appealed to him through M. Carmichael, an 
American merchant who was among the earliest to go to France for assistance, 
this precaution being necessary to maintain secrecy. The forces under Wash- 
ington had been recently defeated by Gen. Howe at Long Island, and the dis- 



couraging news was presented to La Fayette, but its only effect was to increase 
his ardor, and the commissioners henceforth devoted their efforts to getting him 
safely under way. He had previously arranged to visit England with his uncle, 
the Prince de Poix, ambassador to that country, and after spending some weeks 
there he returned surreptitiously to Paris, and a few days later, with Baron de 
Kalb and others seeking passage to America, set out for Bordeaux, where the ship 
"La Victoire" purchased by him through M. de Boismartin, was being repaired 
and fitted for the voyage. While waiting the completion of this work, which was 
unexpectedly delayed, he despatched messages to friends in Paris, and as he re- 
ceived information in reply that his plans and whereabouts were known and that 
an officer was about to start to intercept him, he suspended the repairs on his ship 
and immediately sailed for the neighboring Spanish port of Los Passaje. 

Lord Stormont had discovered his movements and appealed to the Due 
d'Ayen, at whose instigation a lettre de cachet had been despatched, of which, 
and the accompanying letters from his family. La Fayette has this to say : — "The 
orders of my sovereign were only able to overtake me at Los Passaje, a Spanish 
port, at which we stopped on our way. The letters from my family were ex- 
tremely violent, and those from the government were peremptory. I was for- 
bidden to proceed to the American continent under penalty of disobedience ; I was 
enjoined to repair immediately to Marseilles, and await there further orders." 
He complied with these commands to the extent of returning to Bordeaux, where 
after some days, having heard no more from the Comte de Maurepas, — as was 
natural considering the final orders received, — he wrote that he interpreted the 
prime minister's silence as tacit consent, and started, with two of his companions, 
ostensibly for Marseilles, to satisfy the commandant that he was obeying the royal 
injunction; the party drew up, however, on reaching the open country, and La 
Fayette exchanged his more conspicuous costume for that of a courier, in which 
disguise he galloped ahead of the coach to order fresh horses. At the first oppor- 
tunity they turn^ off toward Bayonne, where they would have again the main road 
to Los Passaje. Here they halted, as it was feared that they would be intercepted 
by the duped bearers of the lettre de cachet, and for three hours La Fayette 
secluded himself in the loft of a stable while his companions, passing for ordinary 
travelers, reconnoitered at the inn. No danger being apparent they resumed 
their journey and met with no mishap until they reached the village of Saint Jean 
de Luz, where, in spite of his assumed character. La Fayette was recognized by 
the innkeeper's daughter — who evidently had a keen eye for youth of the other 
sex — as a young man who had passed in a carriage a few days before. Her dis- 
cretion was equal to her acumen, however, as at a sign from the pretended cou- 
rier, she dissembled her surprise, and the horses being changed, the absconders 
continued unmolested. Soon afterward the over trustful officers rode hastily up 
to the inn and inquired of the girl if such a carriage had passed, but her sym- 
pathies were with the young stranger, and without falsehood she told them that 
she had seen the carriage but that the person described was not in it. The pur- 
suers returned and this young woman, all unconscious of the importance of the 
act, proved the pivot on which hung, for this expedition at least, the fortunes of 
La Fayette in America. On the twentieth of April, 1777, "La Victoire" set sail 
from Los Passaje, and with more good luck than her condition or armament war- 
ranted, reached the coast of South Carolina after a two months' voyage, in spite 
of storms and hostile ships. After recovery from the seasickness which affected 
him severely. La Fayette spent much of his time on the tedious passage in writ- 
ing letters of tender regret to his wife — whose situation and condition touched 
him deeply — at the necessity of parting from her so ungallantly, expressing his 
unbounded love and solicitude, which was only inferior to the duty he felt in 
behalf of a struggling people; and also in the study of the English language and 
military tactics. The ship had cleared for the West Indies and the captain, hav- 
ing secretly embarked a considerable venture of his own, was determined to go 
there and was only dissuaded by a promise of indemnity if the vessel was seized, 
and a threat to put the mate in charge if he further insisted. When near the 
coast they were intercepted by a cruiser and La Fayette resolved to blow up the 
vessel rather than surrender, but their alarm was needless as the other proved to 
be an American privateer and left them unmolested. The party were anxious to 
land as soon as possible, so the ship was headed directly for the shore and 

6 



anchored, as it proved, near North Island, at the entrance of Winyah Bay. 
Although it was late in the evening a small boat was launched and they proceeded 
up the bay until a welcome light indicated a friendly roof. Its nearer aspect 
was doubtful, however, as dogs set up violent barking and the inmates, fearing 
a raid from a British war ship, were slow to receive the travelers. After a parley 
between a voice from an upper window and Baron de Kalb, who spoke a little 
English, the door was thrown open and La Fayette and his companions were cor- 
dially welcomed to the home of Major Benjamin Huger of the Continental Army. 
The goal of his absorbing ambition was now at hand, and no better descrip- 
tio» of his enthusiasm and gratification can be given than these extracts from his 
first ktters to his wife: — "I have arrived, my dearest love, in perfect health at 
the house of an American officer ; and, by the most fortunate chance in the world, 
a French vessel is on the point of sailing; conceive how happy I am. I am going 
this erening to Charleston, from whence I will write to you. » ♦ * * * 
I shall now speak to you, my love, about the country and its inhabitants, who are 
as agreeable as my enthusiasm had led me to imagine. Simplicity of manner, 
kindness of heart, love of country and of liberty, a delightful state of equality are 
met with universally. The richest and the poorest man are completely on a level ; 
and although there are some immense fortunes in this country, I may challenge 
any one to point out the slightest difference in their respective manner towards 
each other. I first saw and judged of a country life at Major Huger's house. I 
am at present in the city, where everything somewhat resembles the English cus- 
toms, except that you find more simplicity here than you would in England. 
Charleston is one of the best built, handsomest, and most agreeable cities that I 
have ever seen. The American women are very pretty, and have great simplicity 
of character; and the extreme neatness of their appearance is truly delightful; 
cleanliness is everywhere even more studiously attended to here than in Eng- 
land. What gives me most pleasure is to see how completely the citizens are all 
brethren of one family. In America there are none poor and none even that can 
be called peasants. Each citizen has some property, and all citizens have the 
same rights as the richest individual, or landed proprietor in the country. The 
inns are very different from those of Europe; the host and hostess sit at table 
with you and do the honors of a comfortable meal ; and when you depart you pay 
without being obliged to beat them down. If you dislike going to inns you may 
always find country houses in which you will be received, as a good American, 
with the same attention that you might expect in a friend's house in Europe. 
• * • * From the agreeable life I lead in this country, from the sympathy 
which makes me feel as much at ease with the inhabitants as if I had known 
them for twenty years, the similarity between their manner of thinking and my 
own, my love for glory and for liberty, you may imagine that I am very happy : 
but you are not with me, my dearest love; » » * * Embrace most tenderly 
my Henriette : may I add, embrace our children ? The father of these poor chil- 
dren is a wanderer, but he is, nevertheless, a good husband also, for he loves 
his wife most tenderly. * * ♦ ♦ Adieu, then, my dearest love; * ♦ • 
The night is far advanced, the heat intense, and I am devoured by mosquitoes; 
but the best countries, as you perceive, have their inconveniences." 

La Fayette and his companions had nine hundred miles to travel to present 
themselves before Congress at Philadelphia and they set out in good style with 
horses and carriages that he purchased, but various mishaps reduced them to 

the necessity of mounting the horses, and he wrote 
Madame de La Fayette that he expected to "finally 
arrive on foot." They were much impressed by the * 
virgin grandeur of the scenery, which was in notable 
contrast to the poor farms of their own country, and 
traveling this way for a month, which included a 
}^:^: visit to the Governor of North Carolina and short 
^p5^> stops at Petersburg and Annapolis, they arrived at 
their journey's end. 

Congress was out of patience with the innumer- 
LA FAYETTE SNUFF BOX able foreign officers who had come over with prom- 

Metropolitan Art Museum ises and credentials from Silas Deane, and high ex- 

Reproduced by permission pectations of preferment in the army, and at first no 




attention was paid to the letters presented by La Fayette. The great majority of 
the applicants were adventurers or worse, and some of those that had been com- 
missioned had given unending trouble. They hardly opened La Fayette's papers, 
and the next day when he came to learn the result, he was met by the chairman of 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs to whom he had intrusted his case, with very 
discouraging tidings. Suspecting the true state of affairs, he showed no resent- 
ment but wrote this note, which he requested Mr. Lovell, his intermediary, to 
read before Congress : — "After the sacrifices I have made, I have the right to ex- 
act two favours ; one is to serve at my own expense, — the other is, to serve at first 
as volunteer." This astonishing humility and public spirit attracted the desired 
attention and his dispatches from the envoys were read, with the result that in a 
very flattering resolution he was given a commission as major-general. Franklin 
had written in a most appreciative strain of the young man's character, influence 
and connections, and urged his appointment, at the same time prudently delaying 
a letter which the envoys were directed to write, by the court of France, request- 
ing that he should not be employed. After his own appointment he used his influ- 
ence in favor of de Kalb, who was granted a similar commission retrospectively 
dated, like La Fayette's, July thirty-first; of the remainder of his party some 
were later accepted, and he relieved the disappointment of the others by gifts 
from his own purse. 

The English under General Howe and Admiral Howe having appeared be- 
fore the Delaware Capes, Washington came to Philadelphia early in August and 
at a dinner tendered the Commander-in-chief La Fayette was presented to him. 
"Although he was surrounded by officers and citizens, it was impossible to mis- 
take for a moment his majestic figure and deportment. * * * • Invited by 
the General to establish himself in his house, he looked upon it from that moment 
as his own ; with this perfect ease and simplicity was formed the tie that united 
two friends, whose confidence and attachment were to be cemented by the strong- 
est interests of humanity." (La Fayette's Memoirs.) This immortal friendship 
was, in the trying years that followed, a source of great solace to both ; the one 
finding a sincere and self-forgetting friend, loyal under every condition, and the 
other a hero and guardian whom he worshiped as a soldier and as a man. 

La Fayette's commission carried no assignment and Washington offered him 
a place on his staff, which was joyfully accepted. Together they visited the for- 
tifications and the camp at Annapolis where the pitiful aspect of the poorly 
equipped and half disciplined troops elicited a half apologetic observation from 
the General on their contrast to the army to which his companion was attached 
in France, but La Fayette's only reply, "I am here to learn, and not to teach," 
was indicative of his earnest and modest attitude and at once endeared him to his 
commander. La Fayette noted the motley and tattered uniforms, of hunting shirt 
and gray linen coat at the best, and the awkward and unscientific manoeuvres, but 
he also saw and appreciated the intense patriotism of the men and zealous enthu- 
siasm of the officers. He soon found himself a participant in active operations, 
as the British, although appearing to withdraw after menacing the Delaware, 
soon returned by the way of Chesapeake Bay and Elkton. 

The forces opposed each other gallantly at Chadd's Ford and Brandywine 
Creek, and after a hard and well planned contest lasting all day and entailing 
severe losses, the enemy was victorious and the Americans fell back on Chester 
and later Philadelphia, which, as Washington was unsuccessful in an attempt 
to again engage Howe, they abandoned, in a few days, to protect their stores 
at Reading. "The British marched on Philadelphia and occupied it, surpris- 
ing and routing General Wayne, who had been left with fifteen hundred 
men to check their advance, Congress fleeing to Lancaster and York. At the 
battle of Chadd's Ford, La Fayette, seeking the thickest action, secured permis- 
sion to join the right wing under General Sullivan and in a spirited action dur- 
ing which Lord Cornwallis concentrated his attack upon the division to which he 
had attached himself, he was wounded by a ball in the leg and in the retreat would 
have been unable to mount his horse but for the assistance of Captain Gimat, his 
aide-de-camp and friend. He undertook to join Washington, who had arrived with 
fresh troops, but became so weak from loss of blood that he was obliged to stop 
and have his leg bandaged, and narrowly escaped capture. He reached Philadel- 
phia by water and had his wound dressed, after which he was taken to the peace- 

8 




HOUSE AT CHADD'S FORD 

LA FAYETTE'S HEADQUARTERS 



ful Moravian settlement at Beth- 
lehem, to recuperate. Although 
he treated the matter very 
lightly in letters to his wife, he 
was confined to his bed for six 
weeks during which he suffered 
severely. The Moravian Brothers 
cared for him with great kind- 
ness and endeavored to turn his 
mind from warlike thoughts, but 
he spent much of his time in 
writing — the only employment 
possible — plans for auxiliary 
campaigns which were never 
carried out, although it was sub- 
sequently learned that they were 
thought well of by the French 
authorities to whom they were 
addressed. 

Washington in the mean- 
time had returned from Reading 
and engaged the British at Ger- 
mantown, but the advantage 
continued against him and after 
the loss of Forts Mifflin and 
Mercer on the Delaware river. 



which held out long and bravely against the English ships and sunk a good part 
of the fleet, he gave up the hope of retaking Philadelphia and withdrew to White- 
marsh, from whence he soon went into the memorable winter quarters at Valley 
Forge. 

La Fayette's impatience to be again at the front caused him to leave Bethle- 
hem as soon as he could walk about, and long before his wound had healed or could 
be covered by a boot. In this condition he joined Washington at Whitemarsh, and, 
seeing an opportunity for active service in the movements to check Cornwallis in 
New Jersey, he joined General Greene as volunteer and at Mount Holly was put 
in charge of a small detachment to reconnoitre. He discovered Cornwallis about 
to cross the river at Gloucester, and taking his men to a commanding but dan- 
gerous position at Stony Point he immediately engaged a superior force of Hes- 
sians and drove them .steadily back with severe losses, in spite of reinforcements 
led by Cornwallis himself. He had but three hundred men and many of them 
had marched all day without food, but in his report to General Washington he 
speaks most highly of their spirit and ability, while the men were equally appre- 
ciative of the daring and skill of their commander on this occasion. La Fayette 
admitted that his escape from annihilation was due largely to errors of judg- 
ment on the part of the enemy, who overestimated the strength of the attacking 
force, but as it was successful the affair added much to his reputation and 
popularity. 

This action was unimportant, as, on arriving, Greene decided to abandon the 
position and Cornwallis crossed the river the next day ; but the real fighting ability 
shown by one who, many thought, held only a nominal commission as a compli- 
ment to his enthusiasm and connections, aroused a general desire to see him in 
charge of an independent command, and acting on Washington's recommendation 
to this effect. Congress resolved that he be placed at the head of a division, on 
which Washington appointed him to the Virginia Militia to succeed General 
Stephen. Howe gained no advantage from Cornwallis' passage of the Delaware, 
as, after joining the latter, he made no advance until Greene had effected a junc- 
tion with Washington and then his tentative movements indicated a hesitance to 
attack, which was confirmed soon afterward by his withdrawal to Philadelphia, 
in which comfortable city he settled down for the winter. 

The capture of Burgoyne's splendid army in the North raised the courage and 
the credit of the country, and the news of it, borne across the ocean, determined 
the French alliance, without which the triumph of the American cause would 




WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS, VALLEY FORGE 

VIEW FROM THE REAR 

have been impossible. The self-interest upon which the Government must justify 
its success was embodied in sincere kindness, and the French people, captivated 
by Franklin, were unbounded in their sympathy, while the large loans granted by 
the Ministry when they hardly knew where to turn for Court expenses, were the 
very sinews of war to the patriots. 

At Valley Forge, Washington's wretched army lay starving and freezing in 
pitiful contrast to the British soldiers, who, only twenty-two miles away, reveled 
in luxury. La Fayette remained with his troops and shared their privations, 
which he keenly deplored, though in spite of these their patriotism was little abated. 
While Washington was here suffering poignantly with his men, a clique of offi- 
cers led by Conway, an Irishman who had been in the French service, sought to 
undermine his position as head of the forces and supersede him by Gates, who 
had been made president of the Board of War as a reward for his part in the cap- 
ture of Burgoyne, the report of which, ignoring Washington, he had transmitted 
directly to Congress. The country and Congress were divided by parties holding 
diverse opinions on the conduct of the war, and this situation secured a backing for 
the conspirators which promised success to their plan. Appreciating La Fayette's 
popularity and his influence abroad they saw the necessity of depriving Washing- 
ton of his company and counsel, and they contrived an elaborate plan to seduce 
him from his allegiance to his beloved friend. Congress authorized the formation 
of an "Army of the North" for the purpose of destroying the British shipping on 
Lake Champ lain and subsequently attacking Montreal. It was provided in the act 
that the expedition, having twenty-five hundred men and ample funds and equip- 
ment, should be commanded by La Fayette with Generals Conway and Stark 
for lieutenants, and he received information to this effect through Washington, 
with instructions to repair at once to Albany and there await further orders. 

Washington, although heavy hearted, advised him to accept the position, but 
La Fayette, on realizing that its direct responsibility to the Board of War carried 
an affront to the Commander-in-chief, determined to refuse it, and only modified 
his decision at the earnest solicitation of his friend, who declared that as the place 
had been created he preferred that he should accept it. La Fayette, however, de- 
ferred acquiescence until he had visited headquarters at York and secured fur- 
ther concessions of funds and trustworthy officers; and while there at a dinner 

10 



of the conspirators he created consternation by obligring them to drink a toast to 
the health of the Commander-in-chief whose ruin they were plotting. 

Finding that the scheme was a failure in respect to its main purpose, the Board 
of War lost interest in it, and when, after a toilsome and hazardous journey, La 
Fayette arrived at Albany he found less than half the promised number of men, 
and entirely inadequate preparation. Conway immediately declared the project 
impossible, but La Fayette, mindful of the responsibility of his position and the 
benefit which would result from success, only decided to abandon it when, after 
waiting in vain for necessary supplies, the lateness of the season precluded the 
passage of Lake Champlain on the ice. His presence at Albany was not wholly 
without fruits, however, as he used such money as he received in relieving the dis- 
tress of his men and allaying their discontent by partial payment of overdue 
wages, and also spent much of his time in strengthening neighboring fortifications 
and endeavoring to offset British influence among the Indians who — with the ex- 
ception of the Oneidas and Tuscaroras — while remaining favorable to their more 
munificent suitors, treated him with great respect and gave him the name of 
"Kayoula," formerly borne by a lamented chief, by which he was afterward 
known among them. 

Soon after La Fayette's departure from Valley Forge, Washington became 
possessed of incriminating evidence against eminent members of the Cabal, and 
in the resulting discussion this reached the ears of Congress and created such 
widespread indignation that the malcontents hastened to repudiate their connec- 
tion with the intrigue. The possibility of such treason was, however, too seri- 
ous a menace to pass unnoticed, and Congress made use of the occasion to 
prescribe for the officers of the army a new oath of allegiance which La Fayette, on 
returning from his conference with the Indians, was called upon to administer. 
When, in spite of his regrets for the failure of his expedition, which he feared 
would humiliate him before the world notwithstanding his obvious blamelessness, 
he had finally abandoned it and prepared to return, Congress, persuaded of its 
futility, recalled him to the South in a flattering dispatch calculated to exonerate 
him from the stigma. He rejoined Washington and was employed in further 
administering the new oath when the news was received that France had acknowl- 
edged the independence of the United States and concluded a treaty of commerce 
and alliance. The whole country rejoiced at the consummation of this great tri- 
umph of Franklin's diplomacy, and at Valley Forge, where the hardships of the 
cause had been most cruelly experienced, the joy was especially marked. La 
Faj^ette's happiness at the realization so long hoped for was deeply clouded by 
intelligence of the death of his beloved daughter Henriette, brought by the same 
vessel that bore the treaty, and thus, with his thoughts far across the ocean with 
his stricken wife, he was obliged to take part in the celebration of the nation's 
thankfulness amid salvos of artillery and congratulatory toasts. 

"The English government had made advances toward peace which had been 
spumed by Congress, because they looked only to a cessation of hostilities and 
promised no recognition of independence, but now that France had virtually 
declared war, it was thought necessary to strengthen their holdings in this coun- 
try. Sir William Howe, who had remained comfortably in Philadelphia all win- 
ter, was recalled and Sir Henry Clinton was sent to take his command. Amid 
the preparations for the elaborate and ridiculous "Mischianza" which was to mark 
liOrd Howe's withdrawal, Washington, who had reason to think that the British 
would leave Philadelphia, sent La Fayette with two thousand chosen men across 
the Schuylkill to watch the enemy. 

Since the suppression of the Conway Cabal, the Board of War had been 
superseded by General Greene who as quartermaster general had placed the army 
on an excellent working footing; it had also been increased by new recruits and 
most assiduously drilled by Baron Steuben, an accomplished Prussian officer, 
who arrived early in the spring. It was therefore with high hopes that Wash- 
ington looked forward to intercepting Clinton when he should undertake to join 
his army at New York. A council of war ordered by Congress had decided, how- 
ever, on a defensive campaign, and La Fayette was cautioned to exercise great care 
in the preservation of his command. He left Valley Forge on the eighteenth of 
May, and, crossing the river at Swede's Ford, took up a position at Barren Hill, 
twelve miles from the main army and effectively commanding the roads from Phila- 

11 




ST. PETER'S CHURCH, BARREN HILL, PA. 

A POINT OF VANTAGE FOR LA FAYETTE'S ARMY 



delphia, which was about equally 
distant. His camp was upon 
high ground abruptly sloping to 
the Schuylkill in the rear, and he 
placed a body of Pennsylvania 
militia under General Patten to 
the front and left to guard 
against surprise from the direc- 
tion of Whitemarsh, while 
pickets were advanced on either 
side to warn him of approach 
in these directions. In the im- 
mediate vicinity a stone church 
and several substantial stone 
houses offered protection in the 
event of an engagement, and in 
this situation, admirably chosen, 
he remained until the morning 
of the twentieth, seeking the in- 
formation for which he was 
detached. In the meantime the 
British, in the midst of their 
revelry, learned of his prox- 
imity, and lightly estimating his 
force and skill, sent out a de- 
tachment to bring him in as a 
climax to their festivities. Lord 
Howe in his confidence inviting 
a party to meet the marquis at 
his house the next evening, while 
Admiral Howe prepared a frig- 
ate to receive him. On the morning of the twentieth, having ample troops, five 
thousand were sent around to cut off his retreat at Swede's Ford, and two divi- 
sions of two thousand each were sent against him from different directions at the 
front, thus apparently surrounding him and rendering his escape impossible. 

La Fayette was giving instructions to a young woman, who, on the pretext 
of visiting relatives, was to go to Philadelphia in his interest, when information 
was brought of red-coats on the Whitemarsh road, but as a portion of the militia 
under General Patten had uniforms of that color this excited no alarm. Never- 
theless he immediately sent scouts to learn the truth of this inference, and they 
soon reported that a column of the enemy was advancing on his left and that 
another body was passing up the road to Swede's Ford. Almost at the same 
moment it was learned that a third division was approaching on the Ridge road, 
the direct route from Philadelphia by the bank of the Schuylkill, on which the 
camp was located. The situation was alarming and created consternation among 
the troops, to whom it appeared that every avenue of escape was cut off — as 
General Clinton and Lord Howe certainly intended they should be. La Fayette, 
while fully appreciating the seriousness of his position, was in no wise distracted, 
and his immediate and decisive orders inspired a return of confidence in his men. 
This predicament was entirely due to some inexplicable remissness of his outly- 
ing militia, but there yet remained an avenue of escape if the British on the 
Swede's Ford and Whitemarsh roads could be delayed, and La Fayette unhesi- 
tatingly availed himself of this possibility. 

Somewhat parallel to the Swede's Ford road and nearer to Barren Hill was 
one leading to Matzon's Ford, less known and used. Soon after leaving the hill 
this entered a ravine and was still further concealed by woods in the direction of 
the enemy. Just before reaching the ford it was intersected by a connecting 
road from the main thoroughfare, and the success of La Fayette's plan lay in 
passing this point before his debouchment should be discovered, as it was some- 
what nearer the British lines than his own. To accomplish this he quickly 
posted a defensive party behind the stone wall of the churchyard to guard against 
attack by General Grey, who occupied the road from Germantown; he then 

12 



despatched a number of false 
heads of columns to appear at 
intervals through the woods to 
the westward, to convey to Gen- 
eral Grant, who menaced Mat- 
zon's Ford, the impression that 
a line of columns was emerging 
to engage him. This ruse was 
successful and was the salvation 
of Lafayette, who, while Gen- 
eral Grant was manoeuvering 
before the imagined army, was 
rapidly sending his troops, un- 
der General Poor, down the road 
to the ford, and when these had 
safely passed he brought up in 
the rear with the skirmishers, 
reaching the west bank of the 
Schuylkill in safety just as the 
British, who tardily discovered 
the deception, arrived at the 
river. At Barren Hill, the divi- 
sions under Generals Grey 
and Clinton met in confusion 
where they expected to find 
their quarry. Their consterna- 
tion was enlivened by recrimi- 
nations between the command- 
ers, and in a very crestfallen 
state they returned to Philadel- 
phia, being unwilling to attack 
La Fayette in his now ascer- 




MONUMENT AT BARREN HILL 

ERECTED BY THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MONT- 
GOMERY COUNTY, PA., TO MARK THE SITE OF 
LA FAYETTE'S ENCAMPMENT 



tained position. A ludicrous incident occurred when a body of dragoons, ad- 
vancing on the Ridge road, came upon a company of Iroquois who were a part of 
Captain McLean's command, and who, terrified by the unfamiliar cavalry, rose 
with a war whoop from the ground where they were lying prostrate in ambush. 
The dragoons were even more terrified than the Indians, whom they believed to be 
painted devils, and they precipitately retreated dovni the road to Philadelphia. 

La Fayette remained on the west bank of the Schuylkill over night awaiting 
possible attack, and on the morning of the twenty-first, having learned that the 
British had withdrawn, he recrossed to his former position on Barren Hill, and 
later returned by Swede's Ford to Valley Forge, to the great relief of General 
Washington, who had heard alarm guns which were fired the day before, and 
feared that the detachment had met with disaster. He warmly commended La 
Fayette for his judgment and skill in extricating his command from a seemingly 
hopeless position, in which defeat would have crippled the American army and 
forever blighted the young commander's career. 

Anticipating that Clinton would soon evacuate Philadelphia, Washington 
called a council of war to determine the course to be taken. At this council 
General Lee, an English officer who had joined the Continental army, and who 
was second in command, vigorously opposed an encounter with the British and 
advocated withdrawal to White Plains to await developments. He carried many 
with him in this proposal although La Fayette spoke vigorously against it, and 
Washington, being desirous of attacking, requested all the officers to put their 
opinions in writing, but before this could be done it was learned that the British 
were on the march, and shortly afterward that they were across the Delaware 
on their way to New York. Washington sent orders to the New Jersey militia 
to impede the enemy in every way, and immediately despatched two divisions of 
the army under Generals Lee and Wayne respectively, to Coryell's Ferry on the 
Delaware, a direction parallel with that the British had taken, while the next day, 
the 19th of June, he followed with the main body under General La Fayette, Baron 
de Kalb, and Lord Stirling. Soon after passing the Delaware another council 

13 




-* — ■ 



SUNNYSIDE TAVERN, BARREN HILL 

IN WHICH LA FAYETTE SLEPT. NOW OCCUPIED AS A DWELLING 

wa« called, at which General Lee again argued against an encounter with the 
British, avowing that there was no hope of victory over the highly trained 
enemy, but Washington was determined not to permit them to pass unhindered, 
and with the support of many of the officers, including La Fayette, who spoke 
strongly in favor of an attack, he detached strong parties to harass their flanks 
and rear. These were increased until, having about five thousand men in this 
service, he decided to combine the commands under a major-general, who by 
right of seniority would have been Lee, but this officer being opposed to the plan, 
declined it and with his permission it was given to La Fayette. The latter started 
enthusiastically upon the mission and was close upon the British, who were then 
resting at Monmouth, when General Lee changed his attitude toward the opera- 
tions and, declaring that his honor was at stake, begged Washington to place 
him in command, at the same time acquainting La Fayette with his request and 
working upon his generosity to resign in his favor, which La Fayette immedi- 
ately, though reluctantly, did. Washington's purpose was to bring his army 
within available distance in case the detachment was endangered or a good 
opportunity for a general engagement arose. The division was now within a 
few miles of the enemy, and realizing that if they passed Monmouth the British 
would stand a good chance of reaching the coast, Washington resolved to 
attack them as soon as they should move, and directed General Lee to hold his 
troops in readiness for this. He also, in the presence of a company of officers, 
requested the latter to call a council of his generals later in the day to decide 
upon a plan of action. 

From this time General Lee's acts must be regarded as those of a traitor to 
the cause he was identified with. He held no council with his officers, who there- 
fore had no common understanding of the projected movement. He remained 
inactive while his generals were carrying out individual manoeuvres, and he 
refused repeated calls for assistance, and finally recalled and ordered them to 
retreat in the face of evident advantage, until consternation prevailed, and his 
troops were in full retreat without knowing why. La Fayette, being superseded 
in command, had gone into action as a volunteer and was requested by General 
Lee to direct the advance detachments under General Wayne and General Scott, 
but while successfully executing his instructions, his command was ordered else- 
where and, in spite of repeated appeals for support, soon found itself deserted 
in the general retreat which it was obliged to join. General Washington was 
appri.sed of the situation by meeting on the road by which his army was hur- 

14 



riedly advancing, the first stragglers from the flying troops. Riding hastily for- 
ward he came up with the main body accompanied by General Lee, and in scarcely 
concealed wrath he demanded of the commander an explanation of his action. 
The latter in his confusion was at a loss for a reply, and receiving no satisfac- 
tion on repeating his inquiry, the Commander-in-chief left Lee and rode back 
to check the retreat. He soon learned that the British, taking advantage of the 
flight, were rapidly advancing, and he seized upon a favorable position in a nar- 
row defile to make a stand and receive the enemy's cavalry. The latter advanced 
to within short range when they were met with a volley which shattered their 
formation and obliged them to fall back with heavy loss; they were followed by 
grenadiers who were likewise received and repulsed. In the meantime General 
Washington brought up his own troops which, with others of Lee's command, 
were advantageously disposed on rising ground in the rear, the center line under 
La Fayette, and effectually checked the British advance. A severe engagement 
ensued, and when darkness fell both sides maintained their positions, the British 
protected from flank attacks by woods and morasses on either side. Notwith- 
standing these difficulties. General Washington had decided to press an attack, but 
the failing light obliged him to postpone it until morning, with the result that 
dawn showed a deserted field, the enemy having departed noiselessly in the night, 
leaving many of their wounded, and gained an advance which rendered pursuit 
hopeless. The outcome was equivalent to a victory by the Americans which, had 
it not been for General Lee's incompetence or treachery, would have amounted to 
the annihilation of Clinton's army. General Lee was soon afterward tried by 
court-martial, and being found guilty on several charges, was sentenced to be 
suspended from all command in the army for a period of twelve months, this sen- 
tence being later approved by Congress. Before the expiration of this he was 
discharged from the service, the unanimous testimony of his brother officers 
leaving little doubt that his deliberate purpose on this occasion was to subvert 
the plans of his commander and facilitate the escape of the British. 

While the battle of Monmouth was being fought to cripple the British in 
their passage to New York, a powerful fleet, the first of the French alliance, was 
nearing Delaware Bay in the hope of blockading and capturing Lord Howe's 
ships and cooperating with the American army against the garrison at Philadel- 
phia. This fleet, consisting of twelve ships of the line and fourteen frigates, with 
one thousand men for shore service in addition to their ample crews, was under 
the command of the Comte d'Estaing, and brought as a passenger, among others 
identified with the cause of independence, M. Gerard, the first minister of France 
to the new republic. It sailed from Toulon on the thirteenth of April, 1778, but 
head winds and storms beset the ships from the start, and it was eighty-five days 
before they anchored, on the seventh of July, inside the capes of the Delaware. 
By this time the British were safely in New York, and Washington, with his 
army, was nearing the Hudson, which he planned to cross and establish himself 
near the enemy. Finding no use for his fleet at that point, the Comte d'Estaing 
landed his passengers and despatched messengers to Congress and to General 
Washington, announcing his arrival, and then put to sea again with the purpose 
of following Lord Howe to New York. He arrived at Sandy Hook four days 
later, but to his great disappointment it was found, after waiting more than a 
week for fresh water and supplies, of which his men were in sore need, that 
his larger ships drew too much water to cross the bar at the entrance to New 
York harbor, and he was compelled to again put to sea, leaving the British, whom 
he so eagerly sought, safe in the inner harbor while he headed for Newport, 
Rhode Island, to cooperate with the troops under General Sullivan and others 
that Washington was preparing to despatch under La Fayette, for the reduction 
of a strong garrison which the British held under General Pigot on the islands of 
Narragansett Bay. 

The arrival of this fleet was a source of great joy and gratification to La 
Fayette. It represented before the world the alliance of the country of his birth 
and that of his adoption. He was a thorough and sincere American in this strug- 
gle for liberty, but this in no way displaced his innate patriotism, bred through 
generations of soldiers and courtiers, and his heart warmed with a Frenchman's 
pride in the prowess and magnificence of his country's tribute, while it opened in 
thankfulness for the timely help promised the American cause. His native rank 

15 



V 



ir 



X 







and prestige, with his high 
standing in the esteem of the 
army and Congress, marked 
him providentially for an inter- 
nuncio between these two peo- 
ples united in a common cause 
but with fundamentally differ- 
ing sentiments and customs. 
This duty was made particularly 
pleasant by the fact that the 
Comte d'Estaing was his rela- 
tive and an Auvergnat which 
was taken advantage of, at the 
request of General Washington, 
to assure the Admiral of the au- 
thenticity of the first dispatches 
from the American camp by 
reference to family and provin- 
cial matters. La Fayette had 
good reason for his gratification 
at the turn of aifairs. He had 
left France in actual though re- 
gretful defiance of his honored 
King's commands, to champion 
an almost hopeless cause, and 
now, after two years of effort 
and advancement he beheld his 
country's forces by his side, and 
his King's minister received 
with high honor at Philadelphia. 
His eager desire to share in the 
glory to be won through the op- 
erations of the allies was grati- 
fied by the Commander-in-chief with the command of a detachment of two thou- 
sand men to augment the forces under Major-General Sullivan, consisting chiefly 
of militia which he was endeavoring to increase by levies from neighboring states. 
It was Washington's intention that La Fayette should lead this entire force, under 
General Sullivan's direction, but before La Fayette reached Providence the claims 
of General Greene, in this his native state, presented themselves, and he modified 
his instructions to the former, with the request that he relinquish one half his 
command to Greene, whose special fitness for this occasion was noted, and La Fay- 
ette with his usual good grace acquiesced, although experiencing some disappoint- 
ment at this curtailment of his opportunities in concert with his countrymen. 
He reached Providence on the fourth of August, soon after the arrival of the fleet, 
which was anxious for immediate action, impelled by the evident weakness of the 
British situation and the necessity of early relief from an epidemic of scurvy en- 
gendered by the lack of fresh water and wholesome food ; this was postponed at 
the request of General Sullivan, who had as yet received but a small part of his 
expected militia, and it was several days before he was ready to begin, during 
which General Pigot made important changes in the disposition of his troops and 
greatly strengthened his position. He had a garrison of six thousand men, the 
greater part of whom were at Newport, with a detachment at the northern end of 
the island guarding the passage from the mainland and another on the adjacent 
island of Canonicut; these were strongly intrenched and supported by several 
frigates and smaller craft. Realizing that his situation was critical, the British 
commander abandoned the post on Canonicut, which was certain to fall an easy 
prey before the fire of the French fleet and the troops from the mainland. He also 
blew up or burned the vessels, that would otherwise have been at the mercy of the 
greatly superior enemy, sending some of them adrift as fireships among the ap- 
proaching fleet. 

When at last on the eighth of August General Sullivan declared himself in 
readiness for the combined attack and transmitted the plan to the Comte d'Es- 

16 



LA FAYETTE MONUMENT 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 
BY FALGUIERE AND MERCIER 



tuing, only the necessity for harmonious action prevented a breach of the strained 
relations between the allies, each of which regarded the other jealously. La 
Fayette was called upon to exercise his tact to the utmost to maintain a degree 
of confidence between them, while his own feelings were lacerated by the seem- 
ing indifference of the Americans to the rights and merits of his countrymen. 
It having been agreed that the attack should be made simultaneously on the morn- 
ing of Monday, August tenth, the Comte d'Estaing on the eighth moved his ships 
to the chosen stations, the chief squadron entering the main channel unharmed 
by the broadsides from the batteries on Rhode Island, to a point advantageous 
for disembarking the troops which were to serve on Canonicut with the Amer- 
icans under La Fayette. On Sunday, while the troops and field pieces were being 
landed, word was sent to the Comte d'Estaing by La Fayette that General Sullivan 
had taken advantage of the retreat of the British from their northern fortifica- 
tions on the approach of the French ships that were sent up the East Channel, 
and had crossed over to Rhode Island with his troops, though unable to trans- 
port his cannon, and that he desired assistance from the French Admiral. This 
deviation from the carefully arranged plan was doubtless of little consequence 
from General Sullivan's point of view, but to the professional soldier, on whom 
he now relied, it was the shattering of every tradition of recognized warfare and 
an affront affecting every one of his self-sacrificing compatriots. Notwithstand- 
ing his wounded sensibilities and the poignant regret that his men would thus be 
deprived of their just meed of glory in the expected victory, he was preparing to 
send the desired assistance when he received intelligence of a powerful fleet that / 

had arrived outside to succor the beleaguered garrison. This alarming news found / 

him in a weakened position, his ships widely separated and many of his men on / 

shore, and he decided to immediately embark his men and call a council of his 
captains to decide on the question of offensive or defensive action. The council 
declared in favor of concentration of the fleet during the night in readiness to 
receive attack, as the wind was unfavorable to passage outward, but in the morn- 
ing the wind veered to a favorable direction and they at once set sail to meet and 
challenge Lord Howe. Three frigates were left to protect General Sullivan, to 
whom assurances were transmitted that the Comte d'Estaing would return and 
take part in the attack as soon as he had defeated the British fleet. 

Having repassed the British batteries on Rhode Island without serious dam- 
age from their broadsides, he approached the enemy under full sail, and the latter 
hastily left their anchorage and put to sea, standing again toward New York. 
The French followed with all possible speed, and late in the afternoon had so 
gained upon them that orders were given for a general attack, which Lord Howe 
was preparing to meet, when a severe storm arose and obliged the admirals to 
give their undivided attention to the preservation of their ships. The storm con- 
tinued with great fury throughout the night, and when morning broke both fleets 
were scattered and badly damaged, the "Languedoc," the Comte d'Estaing's flag- 
ship, having lost her rudder and all her masts. In this helpless condition she was 
attacked by one of the British ships, which fortunately did not press its advan- 
tage, and other desultory engagements took place, but neither fleet was in condi- 
tion for combat and after a consultation with his captains the Comte d'Estaing 
turned toward Newport — his own ship in tow of a less crippled one — and the 
British returned to New York without further molestation. The council of cap- 
tains strongly favored immediate retreat to Boston for refitting and replenishing 
the almost utterly exhausted or contaminated supplies, and by the strict terms of 
his royal orders the Admiral was required to do this, but as he had given his 
word that he would return to New^port he determined to do so, although it was 
evident that he was in no condition to render aid to General Sullivan. On arrival 
he presented his situation to the American Commander, and advised him of the 
necessity of taking his fleet straightway to Boston, as the conditions and his orders 
required. He promised to return at the earliest possible day and resume opera- 
tions, but the American officers refused to be satisfied with this, and his sailing 
was followed by a protest signed by all but General La Fayette. 

The position of the latter was fast becoming unbearable under the succession 
of misfortunes and misunderstandings that marked the Comte d'Estaing's ill- 
starred expedition. His honor as a Frenchman, dearer even than his hope for 
American liberty, was frequently and deeply wounded by the disparaging com- 

17 



ments and recriminations he heard from his brother officers, and by the unfriendly 
looks that met him on every side. Under this he maintained his usual poise and 
dignity, but his feelings found vent in a heartfelt letter to General Washington 
and in personal protest to General Sullivan, when the latter in the heat of resent- 
ment included in his general order a slighting reference to the allies. He con- 
vinced the commander of the necessity of retraction, and a later order of the same 
day explained what, it noted, had unwarrantably appeared to be a reflection on 
the Comte d'Estaing and his fleet. While he resented the attitude of his com- 
panions toward his compatriots. La Fayette in no way relaxed his efforts to secure 
mutual cooperation, and he had earnestly endeavored to dissuade the Comte 
d'Estaing from departing until some decisive blow could be struck. Having 
failed in this he rode post haste to Boston, at the request of General Sullivan, 
to urge the detachment of an auxiliary force to aid in the land attack, and as a 
result of a conference with the French commander and the Massachusetts leaders, 
he brought back to General Sullivan assurance of the Comte d'Estaing's readiness 
to personally command a regiment of reinforcements which would be entirely at 
the disposal of the American General. The Count made this offer to show his 
freedom from ill-will as a result of recent dissensions, and to restore harmony, as 
he had no faith in the value of such an inconsiderable augmenting of the forces, 
but his complaisance proved fruitless as an attack had been precipitated the day 
after La Fayette's departure from the field and the latter reached Rhode Island 
again just in time to take charge of the last section of a midnight retreat to the 
mainland. On the twentieth of August he had made the journey to Boston, a dis- 
tance of seventy miles, in seven hours, and arrived almost at the same hour as 
the French fleet. On the thirtieth he made the return trip in six and one half 
hours, reaching camp at eleven o'clock at night. 

In leaving the army in the face of imminent action he sacrificed his keenest 
ambitions to the will of his superior. The struggle which had been the object 
of his hopes and efforts for more than a month was forced by the British, when 
the Americans, after a council of war and in view of their growing weakness from 
rapidly deserting militia and the peril of their position in the event of the ex- 
pected return of the English fleet, returned to their former position at the north- 
ern end of the island, where the adjacent mainland would enable them to retreat 
if necessary. This was accomplished on the night of August twenty-eighth, 
and early on the morning of the twenty-ninth General Pigot discovered the 
movement and hurried his forces to a vigorous attack. General Sullivan dis- 
played great skill and bravery in the resulting engagement in which he repulsed 
three determined assaults, and in the last completely routed the enemy, who re- 
treated in disorder, leaving many dead and wounded on the field. At the 
end of the day the British were intrenched on a neighboring hill, and the two 
armies confronted each other with minor skirmishes during the thirtieth, while 
on the American side a council of war, called on the receipt of a message from 
General Washington announcing the departure of Lord Howe for NewT)ort, de- 
clared for immediate retreat to the mainland. In pursuance of this, the heavy 
baggage was sent to the rear, while at the front a show was made of strength- 
ening the fortifications. As soon as darkness permitted the transportation of the 
troops was begun which La Fayette on his arrival from Boston completed with- 
out discovery or mishap. This movement proved a fortunate escape, as on the 
following morning Lord Howe arrived with a fleet of one hundred vessels and with 
reinforcements for the garrison. 

The action on Rhode Island marked the close of operations against the east- 
ern stronghold of the British and terminated the activities of the allies under 
the Comte d'Estaing. Having set out with a splendid equipment and with the 
high hopes of France and America, as well as with undoubted personal enthu- 
siasm, he had failed, through a succession of misfortunes, to accomplish any of 
the great objects of his expedition, and in now preparing to sail for the West 
Indies, he was carrying out what was expected to have been a triumphant descent 
upon the British possessions after clearing the coast of their ships, whereas the 
close of his campaign left America more menaced than before, as the presence of 
his fleet had been the cause of a greater strengthening of British naval forces on 
this side of the Atlantic. On the breaking up of the command. La Fayette was 
left to defend the country around Bristol while General Sullivan with the main 

18 




THE FRIGATE "ALLIANCE" 

BUILT ON THE MERRIMAC RIVER AT SALISBURY POINT, NEAR NEWBURYPORT, MASS. 

body of the troops went to Providence. The Marquis had expressed to General 
Washington his mortification and regret at his enforced absence from the field of 
battle, to which his inherited profession of soldier most ardently impelled him, 
and it was therefore especially consoling to receive, as he did soon after, a copy 
of a resolution of Congress noting his service in Boston and thanking him for his 
self-sacrifice at a time of impending action. It was accompanied by a cordial 
letter from the President, Henry Laurens, to whom La Fayette returned expres- 
sions of his gratification and his sincere and abounding love for America and its 
cause of liberty. 

With the approach of winter and the prospect of inactivity for some months, 
he recurred to his desire to visit his home, which he had entertained the pre- 
vious year but which had been frustrated by the proposed expedition to Canada. 
He had now an incentive added to the joy of reunion with his family, the possi- 
bility that his service would be required in a descent on England under his coun- 
try's flag, of which the Comte d'Estaing had suggested a probability. He obtained 
leave of absence to visit Philadelphia, and on his way spent a day with General 
Washington at his headquarters on the Hudson, and received the Commander-in- 
chief's approval of his petition for a furlough to return to France. An ill-con- 
sidered affair came up at this time, when Lord Carlisle, one of the commissioners 
sent by England to offer terms of peace to America, referred slightingly to France 
in an address to Congress. La Fayette, with youthful and with French impulse, 
against the remonstrances of General Washington and the Comte d'Estaing, chal- 
lenged the commissioner to give him an opportunity to avenge the insult, but 
Lord Carlisle refused to regard it as a personal matter and suggested that it was 
one fitter for the French and English admirals to decide — a view in which La 
Fayette in later years coincided. 

Congress, always ready to honor the beloved marquis, not only granted him 
an indefinite furlough but extended their thanks for his zeal and services and 
further "Resolved, That the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States of 
America at the court of Versailles be directed to cause an elegant sword with 
proper devices, to be made and presented, in the name of the United States, to the 
Marquis de La Fayette." It was also ordered that the new frigate "Alliance," 
then at Boston ready for sea, be held to carry him to France. He set out from 

19 



Philadelphia with buoyant anticipations of his glorious return, but the chilling 
weather of the late fall found in him a weakened victim, and a growing illness 
overtook him with prostration at Fishkill on the Hudson, only a few miles from 
the headquarters of his dearest friend in America. There he lay for weeks toss- 
ing in violent fever while the army and the country mourned him as one departed, 
so little hope was entertained of his recovery. General Washington visited the 
house daily to learn of his condition, and he sent to attend him. Dr. John Cochran, 
Surgeon General of the Army, under whose skillful and devoted care he finally 
rallied. As soon as his strength returned sufficiently he bade an affectionate 
farewell to his dear friend, and with Dr. Cochran, who was still solicitous, de- 
parted for Boston, where he passed a short period of convalescence while 
awaiting the complement of the frigate's crew. He kept up correspondence 
with Washington to the moment of sailing, and he took with him a most cordial 
and appreciative introduction from the latter to Dr. Franklin, while Congress 
addressed to King Louis a remarkable testimonial to his character and abilities 
in the service of the United States. 

The "Alliance" sailed from Boston on the eleventh of January, 1779, and made 
a quick passage in spite of especially rough weather, arriving at Brest on the 
twelfth of February. La Fayette had left France less than two years before under 
the ban of a lettre de cachet; he now returned a recognized and an honored hero. 
The lettre de cachet was, technically, still in force against him, and he went at 
once to Versailles where he met the King's Ministers and was most cordially re- 
ceived, but out of respect to the law was arrested and committed to the Hotel de 
Noailles — his family residence. Here he gave himself up to the joy of reunion 
with his wife and kindred, and received the notables who hastened to pay their 
respects and consult him, and the ladies who flocked, in the allowable French 
fashion, to embrace him. He saw for the first time his daughter Anastasia, bom 
since his departure, who now occupied the place of the lost Henriette. After a 
few days he wrote a letter of humble apology to the King and he was in conse- 
quence summoned to Versailles where he received a "reprimande douce" and con- 
gratulations from Louis XVI, and was restored to liberty with a hint to avoid as 
much as possible the public places where demonstrations by the people would call 
attention to the anomaly of his position. There is ample evidence that such 
sequestration was warranted, as popular acclaim had reached such a height that 
nightly allusions to him in the theaters occasioned general applause. 

La Fayette was now able to give thought and effort to plans directly and 
indirectly favoring the revolution, and the high respect in which he was held at 
Versailles, especially by the Comte de Vergennes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
enabled him successfully to advocate them and resulted in incalculable good to 
the American cause. So critical and discouraging were conditions in France and 
America that but for the personal popularity of Franklin and La Fayette the 
fullness and continuance of the aid so indispensable at this juncture would have 
been unattainable. Through the influence of Queen Marie Antoinette he was 
made colonel of a regiment stationed at Saintes and from this place he addressed 
to the Ministry numerous suggestions upon the common cause, and in particular 
upon a projected expedition to invade England in which he was extremely desir- 
ous of taking a prominent part. The expedition was finally arranged and he left 
for Havre where the army and navy were to rendezvous for this purpose, his 
assignment being that of aide to the Comte de Vaux, the Commander-in-chief. 
Great preparations were made for a combined attack by the forces of France 
and Spain, but owing to extreme tardiness on the part of the fleet under Comte 
d'Orvilliers, which was to convoy the transports, British contradefense so pro- 
gressed that the feasibility of the plan was in doubt and it was finally aban- 
doned late in the summer of 1779 after months of waiting. While at Havre La 
Fayette received with warmly expressed pleasure the sword made for him in 
Paris under Franklin's direction by order of Congress, and now brought to 
him with an appreciative letter from the envoy by his grandson Temple Franklin. 
This sword was of exquisite workmanship and depicted on the golden hilt 
and guard the scenes in which La Fayette's bravery and skill had been most 
conspicuous. 

Even while the invasion of England was expected, La Fayette was develop- 
ing, at the request of M. de Vergennes, a comprehensive and detailed plan for a 

20 







PORTRAIT AND LETTER BY LA FAYETTE 

FROM THE ORIGINAL IN THE CAPITOL, RICHMOND 



second expedition to Amer- 
ica, and in the latter part 
of July he forwarded this 
to the Secretary with such co- 
pious notes and instructions 
based upon his knowledge of 
the country and experience in 
its affairs that the memorial 
was accepted as an adequate 
embodiment of the subject 
and became the foundation of 
the plan which, upon the aban- 
donment of the Channel cam- 
paign, was definitely adopted. 
Thus through La Fayette the 
energies of France were again 
bent to succor and aid the en- 
feebled cause of liberty whose 
exhausted defenders were now 
reduced to critical inefficiency. 
Through correspondence and 
consultation between La Fay- 
ette and the Comte de Ver- 
gennes the final arrangements 
were made and early in March, 
1780, the Marquis found him- 
self on board the frigate 
"Hermione" bound once more 
for America, this time as the 
honored servant of his King, 
bearing to General Washing- 



ton the tidings of ships, and troops that were soon to follow, and his majesty's sug- 
gestions for their effective employment under the American Commander-in-chief. 
On the twenty-eighth of April the "Hermione" arrived at Boston where great 
joy was manifested at the return of La Fayette, who was escorted through 
cheering crowds to the residence of General Hancock. He at once wrote Gen- 
eral Washington apprising him of his arrival and intention of starting the next 
day to seek him and deliver the important messages with which he was in- 
trusted. He was at that time ignorant of recent movements of the army and 
of the location of headquarters but following later intelligence he found the 
General at Morristown, where he arrived on the tenth of May. He was re- 
ceived with gratifying enthusiasm by the officers and soldiers and with heartfelt 
pleasure by Washington, to whom he announced the coming of the new expedi- 
tion, under the Comte de Rochambeau, and presented the suggestions of the 
ministry contained in his instructions from the Comte de Vergennes. After 
spending a few days with General Washington and discussing the combined oper- 
ations. La Fayette continued to Philadelphia to present himself to Congress 
and to confer with the Chevalier de La Luzerne, who had succeeded M. Gerard 
as French Minister to the United States. He was heartily welcomed by Con- 
gress, which as a body had as yet no knowledge of the news he brought, it 
having been thought wise to withhold this information until the arrival of the 
fleet, for fear of giving warning to General Clinton. Before the French arrived 
however the matter was generally known and discussed, as the British had received 
dispatches from England reporting the movement. 

Washington's great anxiety was to properly support and feed the allies and 
he urged the governors of the several states to exert themselves to the utmost to 
raise men and provisions for the purpose. His own army had frequently been 
without bread or meat for days at a time, so scant were the resources available, 
but he felt that now or never must the supreme effort be made to strike a crush- 
ing blow, and this would be impossible and the French cooperation again fruit- 
less without troops and rations. The fleet, which arrived at Narragansett Bay 
early in July, consisted of six ships of the line and five frigates with five thou- 

21 



sand five hundred troops. More troops were to have been sent but the transports 
for bringing them were delayed and it was thought best to sail at once with all 
that could be carried, leaving the balance to be forwarded when opportunity 
offered. They were hardly inside the Rhode Island capes when several British 
men-of-war appeared and they came out again to meet these, but the British were 
apparently discouraged by the strength of their enemy for they turned and put 
back to New York. The Comte de Rochambeau immediately sent a letter to 
General Washington placing himself and his forces at the Commander-in-chief's 
disposal, on receipt of which La Fayette was despatched to Newport with a plan 
of action against New York, which then seemed feasible because of a preponder- 
ance of naval strength on the French side — and which Washington regarded as 
the most important object attainable — but before he reached Rhode Island rein- 
forcements under Admiral Graves arrived which gave the British the naval supe- 
riority and put the French commanders on the defensive. The situation of the 
French was rendered more dubious by the incapacity, through illness, of a large 
proportion of the troops and sailors, and Admiral de Ternay feared for his fleet 
a repetition of the failure of the Comte d'Estaing. A few British men-of-war 
appeared off Newport and were driven back by a portion of the French fleet, which 
were unable to overtake them, but they in turn were pursued by a large fleet of 
the enemy which soon appeared and which set up a blockade of Narragan- 
sett Bay. As General Clinton was known to be preparing a large expedition 
to move against the combined forces of General Heath and the Comte de Rocham- 
beau on Rhode Island, the surrounding country was drawn on for militia to swell 
the ranks, and the French General strongly urged General Washington to send a 
body of regulars to his assistance, but for many reasons the Commander-in-chief 
decided against this, mainly because he felt that by using his army to threaten 
New York from the West and thereby restrain General Clinton, he could more 
effectively relieve the forces at Newport. The issue was as he hoped and the 
expedition was soon abandoned, although there is reason to believe that other con- 
siderations contributed to this result. 

Although the situation was relieved it was still unfavorable, and La Fayette 
took up with the Comte de Rochambeau the plan of attacking New York, which 
the aid of the second division from Brest, which was now shortly expected, would 
render promising. Much depended on this division as it was to bring clothing 
for fifteen thousand men, and large quantities of arms and powder, all of which 
La Fayette had arranged for, but which the first division was unable to bring on 
account of the lack of transports. The need of these munitions was greatly felt 
in the work of building up the army for the projected operations, but patience 
and patriotism on the part of officers and men made the best of the deficiency. 
Having established an understanding as to the movements to be made when oper- 
ations were begun, La Fayette returned to the headquarters on the Hudson and 
was given the command of a corps of light infantry, consisting of six battalions, 
which General Washington had formed with this in view. As the light infantry 
would naturally be in the van in any movement 
the commission was both flattering and pleas- 
ing to the Marquis, and the relations thus begun 
between commander and men were notable for 
cordiality and permanence. 

Late in August the frigate "Alliance" ar- 
rived at Boston and brought information that 
the second division of the French fleet was 
blockaded by thirty English ships outside the 
harbor Brest. This put an end to hopes of 
immediate reinforcements and supplies from 
France and it became necessary to give up the 
plan of an attack on New York until greater 
naval strength was available. Regret for this 
misfortune was particularly poignant because 
of the lateness of the season, and the fact that 
a large part of the army would retire at the 
end of the year through expiration of their 
tex-ms of enlistment. At this juncture General 




COMMEMORATIVE PLATE 
Owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art 



22 



Washington, in compliance with a request from the Comte de Rochambeau, ap- 
pointed September twentieth at Hartford for a conference on the situation and 
prospects. The Commander-in-chief was accompanied on this occasion by General 
La Fayette and General Knox, while with the Comte de Rochambeau and Admiral 
de Ternay were several other French officers. The conference was most deferen- 
tial on both sides, and the serious deficiencies of force and resources being recog- 
nized by all, mutually signed statements were executed which strongly urged the 
King of France to provide the necessary ships and supplies, and a copy of these 
addressed to Comte de Vergennes was delivered to the Vicomte de Rochambeau, 
the son of the General, who sailed at once for France in one of the vessels of the 
fleet. To further urge this appeal Congress despatched Colonel John Laurens, 
the son of their President, to the court at Versailles. The American officers re- 
turned to headquarters by way of West Point to give General Washington an 
opportunity to inspect the fortifications there and confer with General Benedict 
Arnold who at his own urgent request had recently been appointed to command 
this post. The hand of fate, which alike shapes good and ill fortune, brought them 
there at the very hour of Major Andre's arrest at Tarrytown while returning 
from the fort with Arnold's traitorous contract of surrender, and the latter, hav- 
ing the fortune to be first informed of this, fled without greeting them. In a 
most detailed and interesting account of the calamity which he wrote to the 
Chevalier de La Luzerne, La Fayette expressed his horror of the revelation and 
related the circumstances attending it, commending also to the sympathies of 
patriots the stricken wife of the traitor, who, he was convinced, was ignorant of 
the plot. He was a member of the court-martial which condemned Major Andre 
to be hung, and he signed the judgment, regretting deeply that the inexorable 
necessities of war required beyond any shadow of doubt the execution of this tal- 
ented and lovable young man. 

September was now near its end, and with Admiral de Ternay's fleet block- 
aded at Nevq^ort and the American army unequal in numbers or equipment to the 
British under General Clinton, there was little prospect of accomplishing any de- 
cisive movement during the few weeks that would intervene before going into 
winter quarters. La Fayette with his usual zeal, and especially in consideration 
of the moral necessity of presenting some report of action to the waiting Minis- 
try, urged various secondary attacks upon the British outposts around New York 
and one of these had been determined upon when an unexpected movement of the 
enemy's ships disarranged the plan. He chafed under inactivity and he feared 
for the reputation of the American army and the success of the expedition which 
his country had sent here. While he was agitated by these regrets the Chevalier 
de Chastellux, a dear friend who was serving under Comte de Rochambeau, took ad- 
vantage of the settled routine of the win- 
ter camp at Newport and visited_ head- 
quarters for some days while on his way 
to Philadelphia. In a charming account 
of his travels M. de Chastellux describes 
his delight at meeting and knowing Gen- 
eral Washington, who received him most 
graciously, and his gratification at 
the remarkable position and in- 
fluence of the Marquis de La Fay- 
ette, both among his troops and the 
country in general, while 
he further says of him, "I 
do not fear contradiction 
when I say that private let- 
ters from him have fre- 
quently produced more 
effect upon some states 
than the strongest exhor- 
tations of the Congress." 
Soon after the Marquis de 

LAFAYETTE CHINA IN METROPOLITAN MUSEUM ChastelluX arrived at Phil- 

Reproduced by permission adelphia, La Fayette ob- 

23 




IKfem^TK 



tained leave of absence and joined him, there being no special occasion for 
his services at the winter quarters to which the army had now repaired. From 
that city his attention was turned southward and in the hope of active service he 
requested General Washington to transfer him to the department under General 
Greene, who was endeavoring to regain General Gates' lost ground in South Caro- 
lina and Georgia. General Washington at this time feared that by renouncing his 
command in the northern army La Fayette would unwisely forfeit his share in the 
glory to be achieved when reinforcements should make possible the reduction of 
New York, and he advised the Marquis to decide the matter in the light of the 
fullest information that he could obtain from France as to the probability of 
immediate succor. Everything now depended on substantial aid from that coun- 
try. The British easily dominated the naval situation, while the army, through 
lack of funds and consequent lack of food and clothing, was reduced to its lowest 
efficiency — with rapidly dwindling ranks and little hope of recruits. The uni- 
forms and supplies which La Fayette had arranged for, were still at the mercy of 
the British fleet blockading Brest, and although public spirited men and women 
worked diligently to supply the deficiency, the suffering was but slightly relieved. 
On the occasion of the raising of a fund in Philadelphia for this purpose. La Fay- 
ette contributed one hundred guineas in the name of his wife, and accompanied the 
gift with a letter assuring the ladies having the matter in charge that the Mar- 
quise would, were she present, most heartily enter into the work. While at Phil- 
adelphia he frequently wrote to Comte de Vergennes and others of the Ministry 
urging speedy assistance, and to M. de Vergennes and to Madame de La Fayette 
recommending Colonel Laurens, the special envoy, to the highest social favors. 
He gave up his idea of joining the southern army and early in January, 1781, he 
returned to the headquarters at New Windsor to pass the rest of the winter with 
General Washington with whom he hoped to visit his countrymen at Newport. 

While he thus renounced his desire for southern service the movements of 
the British were soon to bring about in a more gratifying way than La Fayette 
had expected, his participation in the campaign in that section. Confined to New 
York in the North, General Clinton had long since transferred aggressive oper- 
ations to the South, hoping thus to restrict by degrees the territory of the rebels, 
and through several successful engagements had taken Savannah and Charles- 
ton, at which latter city he had left Lord Cornwallis with upwards of four thou- 
sand troops, to hold it and, if possible, extend his domination northward. On the 
American side. General Benjamin Lincoln and his army had been forced to sur- 
render at Charleston, and Congress had formed and despatched a new corps from 
Maryland and Delaware, under Baron de Kalb, and given the command of the 
Department of the South to General Gates who, taking his army into South Car- 
olina, was met and utterly defeated at Camden, the Baron de Kalb being killed in 
the action. Cornwallis sought to take advantage of his success by marching 
through North Carolina, but was checked by an American victory in an engage- 
ment with a division of his troops at King's Mountain and drew back over the 
South Carolina border. Sir Henry Clinton, on learning of the success at Cam- 
den, despatched a force of three thousand men under General Leslie to establish a 
base near the James river in Virginia, and operate in that vicinity subject to 
orders from the southern commander. The latter soon called General Leslie to 
his support in South Carolina and the British Commander-in-chief made up an- 
other expedition to enter Virginia under the traitor Benedict Arnold, who now 
held the rank of brigadier general in the British army. These operations were 
followed with intense interest by General Washington, who cherished the hope of 
dislodging the British from their strongholds in the South. He was authorized 
by Congress to appoint General Nathanael Greene to supersede Gates, and the 
former was already in North Carolina with the nucleus of an army, when Arnold 
arrived at the James river on the thirtieth of December, 1780. General Greene 
had aroused the country through which he passed, to fresh and notable exertions 
for the support of his troops, and was gathering an effective army at Charlotte, 
North Carolina, but as he was fully occupied in checking Cornwallis it was neces- 
sary to combat Arnold with another division. To this end General Washington 
detached a part of the Light Infantry commanded by La Fayette in the fall of 
17S0, and ordered a rendezvous of New Jersey troops at Morristown — in all 
about twelve hundred men — which he placed under La Fayette with instructions 

24 




ASSEMBLY HALL AND LIBRARY, BALTIMORE 

FROM A PRINT OWNED BY THE MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

to proceed at once to the head of the Elk river and from there to embark, under 
French convoy if possible, for Hampton Roads or other advantageous point. 

La Fayette received the command on the twentieth of February and started 
at once on the mission. He planned so wisely and marched so expeditiously that 
he reached the Elk several days ahead of the date mentioned by General Wash- 
ington in his instructions, notwithstanding unfavorable weather and roads. He 
had seen to the shipment of ammunition and supplies from Philadelphia and writ- 
ten Governor Jefferson of Virginia requesting reinforcements of militia and also 
horses for the artillery he had received on the way, and his expedition, so far as 
his control of it extended, had every prospect of success. In his instructions he 
was ordered to embark his troops only when certain that French vessels were in 
Chesapeake Bay to support them, but after waiting several days for the collection 
of the required boats La Fayette embarked his men and took them to Annapolis, 
which he considered a point of greater advantage, from whence he continued 
down the bay to investigate conditions and if the French were there to personally 
request of the commander the convoy which, from his knowledge of the jealousies 
still obtaining with the allies, he felt was unlikely to be sent. 

Admiral de Ternay the commander of the French fleet at Nev(T)ort had died 
there early in the winter and his place had been taken by the Chevalier des Touches, 
hitherto second in command. The latter was earnest for active operations and 
during a storm which scattered and weakened the British blockading fleet, he was 
enabled to despatch a ship of the line and two frigates for Chesapeake Bay in 
response to requests from Congress and the Governor of Virginia, who were 
alarmed by the Arnold expedition and hoped to check it by destroying its trans- 
ports. These vessels left Newport on the ninth of February but as the British 
ships were then safe in the Elizabeth river at Portsmouth they soon returned 
without accomplishing their purpose, although they justified their attempt by 
capturing at sea several of the enemy's ships and destroying others. 

General Washington was ignorant of the departure of this squadron and when 
he learned of it predicted the result, but he urged M. des Touches to proceed 
there with his entire fleet and a suitable detachment of land forces which he 
regarded as essential to the purpose. It was this expedition which he relied upon 
to support La Fayette, and though it eventually sailed, nothing was accomplished 
as it was overtaken at the entrance of Chesapeake Bay by Admiral Arbuthnot 
and a blockading fleet, and after a hard fought battle in which neither side 
gained a victory, was obliged to return to Nev^rport for repairs. A few miles 

25 




, (;,„,.ni, ntxi'i^fejti- 

•.MNSSMMfrii 0.,.,-.,/ (__ „ 



|<i§i^^£-»-v 



"'ii'i#s;;>'i^---":- 



MONUMENT-SCENE OF SURRENDER 

YORKTOWN, VA. 



away La Fayette, unconscious 
of the repulse, was at York- 
town, Williamsburg and other 
points where stores could be col- 
lected or information of the 
enemy gained, and he learned 
with gratification that in re- 
sponse to his appeals Baron 
Steuben, who had been sta- 
tioned at Richmond, had raised 
five thousand militia to serve 
with the troops then resting at 
Annapolis. While reconnoiter- 
ing the enemy's position at 
Portsmouth with General Muhl- 
enberg, whom he visited at his 
camp at Sufi'olk, he learned of 
the arrival of a fleet which he 
naturally supposed to be that of 
Admiral des Touches, but which 
to his great astonishment and 
disappointment he later found 
to be British. La Fayette's in- 
structions required him in the 
event of success or failure of 
the original plan to return to 
headquarters as expeditiously 
as possible, and he therefore set out by land for Annapolis, going by way of 
Richmond and allowing himself the pleasure of visiting General Washington's 
mother at Fredericksburg and his home at Mount Vernon, for which delay he 
made amends by riding at night. On arriving at Annapolis he found the return 
of his fleet blocked by two small gunboats which the British commander had 
immediately sent up the bay, and the matter of reaching the head of the Elk 
became a serious question, as to go by land would necessitate the sacrifice of 
artillery and heavy stores which he had no means of transporting such a distance, 
and for which no wagons could be found although the surrounding country was 
searched. The forward passage of the fleet of ninety-seven boats had been made 
under Commodore Nicholson of Baltimore and he was ready to take them back 
at the first opportunity of eluding the gunboats. This opportunity came, after 
the land passage had been given up as unfeasible, through a plan of Colonel 
Ebenezer Stevens, proposed at a council of the officers. Under his direction two 
of the largest sloops, each about sixty-two tons burden, were armed with can- 
non, and, fitted with awnings to protect the crew, they resolutely sallied forth. 
Although greatly superior in armament the British did not see fit to test it, and 
they dropped down the bay a safe distance while the fleet triumphantly emerged 
and made a rapid passage to the point of their embarkation. Arrived again at the 
head of the Elk, La Fayette's plans were once more reversed by the receipt of a 
recent letter from General Washington in which he retracted, after very serious 
consideration, an earlier confirmation of the original instructions to return, and 
directed him to proceed as rapidly as possible to the support of General Greene. 
While this was directly in line with his earlier expectations, La Fayette 
found it difficult to carry this order into effect with the troops turned toward 
the North. They did not like the prospect of a summer in an impoverished 
army in the warm climate of Virginia or North Carolina, and desertions became 
alarmingly frequent. To check these. La Fayette took extreme measures which 
were entirely successful. He hung one deserter and reprimanded two others, 
and then in an order of the day he announced the nature and hazards of the 
proposed expedition, and that he would not force any soldier to encounter these 
against his will, but to obviate the occasion for deserting he would on applica- 
tion from any who wished to return to the North grant them a pass to headquarters. 
Thus placed upon their mettle they cheerfully accepted the situation, and deser- 
tion, which had threatened to destroy his army, ceased entirely. Considerable 

26 



difficulty was experienced from head winds while crossing the Susquehanna river 
at Bald Friar Ferry, but without further incident the troops reached Baltimore 
where it was hoped to obtain much needed supplies of clothing and shoes. The 
finances of Congress were then at their lowest ebb and even Robert Morris, to 
whom the burden had been transferred, was unable to meet the requirements, 
so that no help could be expected through regular channels. It was impossible to 
proceed without the supplies, however, and La Fayette on his personal security 
borrowed two thousand guineas of the merchants of the city, with a large part 
of which he bought cloth for overalls and shirts, and with the balance hats and 
shoes. At a ball given in his honor in the new Assembly Hall he appealed to the 
ladies to make up the garments, with the result that the next day the dancing 
hall was turned into a busy workroom and those who had graced the ball vied 
with each other in the work of clothing the soldiers. 

With spirits revived by new and serviceable outfits, the expedition left Balti- 
more on the nineteenth of April and began the campaign that was to end in the 
most glorious event of the war. Many other carefully matured plans had been 
set at naught by disappointment and delays and unpropitious elements, but for 
this one, to an extent far greater than even the Commander-in-chief could foresee, 
a beneficent Providence was drawing together long hoped-for and long deferred 
advantages, to unite them in a crown of victory. That victory was the capture 
of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and the path to it was virtually direct from this point, 
although incidental detours were necessary, and slowly ripening conditions coun- 
seled delay. 

Pressing forward with the utmost rapidity by forced marches, and unim- 
peded by tents, baggage, or artillery, which followed under guard, La Fayette 
arrived at Richmond with his troops on the twenty-ninth of April just in time 
to prevent the capture of the city by General Phillips, who had come up the James 
river with a strong force and was then but a few miles below Manchester on the 
opposite bank. Phillips, although stronger in disciplined troops than La Fayette, 
and greatly exasperated by the sight of the latter's well chosen camp, did not see fit 
to contest his position but after burning some tobacco warehouses at Manchester, 
abandoned his object and dropped down the river by stages to Brandon, where he 
encamped on the south shore. When Arnold first arrived in Virginia, he raided 
Richmond and destroyed an important ordnance foundry, but as the public 
stores and munitions had been conveyed to remote country towns, and it was 
necessary to return immediately to the coast, comparatively little damage was 
done ; at this time large stores of ammunition and supplies were held in the mag- 
azines, which were the especial object of Phillips' excursion, and the loss of these 
would have had a serious effect on the Virginia campaign. 

Lord Cornwallis, who had returned to Wilmington to recover from a disas- 
trous engagement with General Greene at Guilford Court House, now formed 
the plan of uniting his forces with those of General Phillips, who commanded over 
Arnold, to gain possession of Virginia, and isolate the South to hasten its conquest. 
He sent word of this plan to General Phillips and the latter, who had passed fur- 
ther down the river, returned to Brandon preparatory to marching to Peters- 
burg, the appointed rendezvous. This movement led La Fayette, who was fol- 
lowing him down the river at a safe distance, to believe that he intended another 
attack on Richmond, and he hastily returned with his own troops to that city, 
but he soon learned of Cornwallis' approach and the menace to Petersburg, and 
he chafed at his inability, from lack of men, to go there and defend it. He con- 
tinued, however, by means of scouts, to keep watch over both armies and hoped 
for the speedy arrival of expected reinforcements under General Wayne which 
he planned to use to resist a combined attack. Owing to the great difficulty of 
organizing and equipping them, these reinforcements had not yet left Pennsyl- 
vania, and as La Fayette at this time received orders from General Greene to 
assume command of all forces in Virginia and protect the state to the best of his 
ability, the importance of ' conserving and most efficiently employing his small 
army rendered him extremely cautious; he wrote that he "hardly dared trust 
himself" and when it is realized that Virginia was then the key to the most vital 
issue of the war and that its protector, though so long a leader of men, was only 
twenty-four years of age, it is not surprising that the weight of this responsibility 
with the insufficiency of his means, bore heavily upon him. While General Phillips 

27 



LA FAYETTE 



<'V'> 



»^"^,.;";?^ 




RUINS CHURCH TOWER, JAMESTOWN IS., VA. 

BUILT IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 



was on his way to Peters- 
burg he was stricken with a 
fever and soon afterward 
died, upon which the com- 
mand of his troops devolved 
again upon Benedict Arnold. 
Very soon after his reacces- 
sion he sent a letter to La 
Fayette under a flag of truce 
but the latter on learning 
the name of the sender re- 
fused to receive it, explain- 
ing to the bearer that he 
would gladly communicate 
with any other British offi- 
cer. This was in direct ac- 
cord with his instructions 
from General Washington 
and the dictates of his own 
feelings, and it was highly 
approved by the country, but 
it naturally angered Arnold, 
who threatened hardship to 
American prisoners, but no 
notice was taken of his 
threats and on the arrival 
of Cornwallis he was given 
leave of absence to report to 
General Clinton at New York 
and passed from the scene. 

The operations of the 
next two months exhibited to 
a remarkable degree La Fayette's military abilities, and resulted, after devious 
marches and retreats by both sides, in driving the British into the trap from which 
they could not escape. Lord Cornwallis was joined by General Leslie with up- 
wards of two thousand troops and another descent was made upon Richmond, but 
La Fayette caused the stores to be removed, and by retiring in another direction 
led the enemy a chase through the neighboring country, which in the course of 
events, and with the arrival of General Wayne, became a pursuit by the Ameri- 
cans. The British raided many towns, including Richmond and Charlottesville, 
pillaging and destroying stores, and at the latter place made prisoners of seven 
members of the General Assembly — which had retired there from Richmond on 
the approach of Cornwallis — Governor Jefferson himself barely escaping. Only 
once was the safety of the American army in doubt, and that was at Green Spring 
Farm near Jamestown on the sixth of July, when as the British were retreating 
down the river, La Fayette was led into an undue approach by a report that they 
were about to cross in great haste. This proved to be a trap into which Lord Corn- 
wallis planned to draw the American commander, as he made it appear that the 
body of his troops had crossed and only a covering party remained, whereas the 
former were ambushed for an assault when La Fayette should open on the rear 
guard. By means of stragglers and pretended deserters who were instructed to 
misinform the Americans, La Fayette was led to make the attack, but he used 
such caution and made such an admirable disposition of his troops, that he in- 
flicted considerable loss on the enemy and did not expose himself to the annihi- 
lation they hoped for. He discovered the ruse early in the action, although the 
concealed troops had not then been brought out, and by skillful formation, and 
distinguished vigor and bravery on the part of General Wayne, he was able to 
retire without serious loss, while the British, realizing the failure of their strat- 
agem, crossed the river at nightfall and established themselves at Cobham. It 
is probable that no general action would have occurred had it not been precipi- 
tated while La Fayette was personally investigating the peculiarities of the 
advanced skirmish, as he then discovered the ambuscade, but when, on retum- 

28 







ing, he found the matter beyond re- 
call he entered valiantly into it, and 
was in the center of the combat lead- 
ing and encouraging the troops to the 
end, although his horse was twice 
shot from under him. His bravery en- 
deared him still further to the army 
and the country, and was recognized 
with respect by his antagonists. 
With the exception of a detachment 
which General Tarleton took on a 
futile raid to Amelia Court House 
the British retired from Cobham to 
Portsmouth, and La Fayette after 
having occupied Williamsburg with- 
drew his troops to a more salubrious 
position at Malvern Hill. He sent 
Generals Wayne and Morgan to 
watch Tarleton, upon which the latter 
also fell back on Portsmouth, leav- 
ing Virginia free from further alarm. 
La Fayette with his restricted 
view of the situation now regarded 
his work as finished, and hoped to be 
recalled to New York where he be- 
lieved that more important operations 
would soon take place. There was 
good reason for this supposition, as 
General Washington had not relin- 
quished his plan of driving the British 
from Manhattan and upon the arrival 
of Admiral the Comte de Barras, 



REVOLUTIONARY POWDER HOUSE 

WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA 

who came from France to command the fleet at Nevv^port, a conference at Weth- 
ersfield, Connecticut, had decided to combine the French and American land 
forces on the Hudson, preparatory to making a general attack when the Comte 
de Grasse, who was expected from the West Indies, should arrive to strengthen 
the naval force. The proposed preliminary movements of the allied armies were 
intended, in a great measure, to alarm General Clinton and cause him to draw on 
his southern forces for support, thus to relieve the situation in Virginia, where 
at this time La Fayette appeared to have little prospect of holding Cornwallis in 
check. Fortunately, the report of the conference, which was despatched to Con- 
gress and the Chevalier de La Luzerne, fell into the hands of General Clinton by 
the capture of the messenger, and he at once sent the order to Cornwallis to 
embark his troops, which was the occasion of the latter's withdrawal to Ports- 
mouth, the rendezvous of his fleet. 

At the Wethersfield conference the Comte de Rochambeau had urged the 
concentration of the allies on the Chesapeake, an alternative to which General 
Washington had already given much thought, but as the Comte de Barras de- 
clined on the ground of the insufficiency of his force to take his fleet there, the 
plan was kept in abeyance until circumstances should further develop its possi- 
bilities, the Comte de Rochambeau meanwhile sending an urgent appeal to the 
Comte de Grasse for ships, men and money for New York, though he also called 
his attention to the equal opportunity for service in the Chesapeake. Early in 
June a fleet arrived at Boston bringing upwards of six hundred additional troops 
for the Comte de Rochambeau, and ample funds for his and General Washing- 
ton's armies, and on the arrival of these reinforcements at Newport General de 
Rochambeau started with his entire force to join the American army on the Hud- 
son. The "Saggittaire," which convoyed the French transports to Boston, also 
brought a letter from the Comte de Grasse whose fleet had left France with the 
other and kept it company for some time, which stated the admiral's intention of 
coming to the United States for a short visit which he hoped would prove advan- 
tageous to the allies, and the Comte de Rochambeau before breaking camp 

29 




^^^m.. 



''''"'■■q:;;;--::vS^^!l'''''" 



.,j;;,;;'iv,',;viv.;;is;!iig'E;^w^ 



\**'' M!**it::f 



■ • :»»-.•■■•... iter..* 



,,.„„„.,,, .;;(„M,;,.,„ 

^";w:u::V?!:r;,;v,... 




THE VILLAGE STREET, YORKTOWN 

UNALTERED SINCE THE REVOLUTION 

despatched to him another letter frankly stating the weakness of the Continental 
army and again urging him to help them at this critical juncture with all the 
resources he could command. He also repeated his intimation that a favorable 
opportunity existed in the South. 

On the arrival of the French army General Washington undertook minor 
operations against British outposts but they were unsuccessful and the combined 
forces went into camp near White Plains to await developments. Washington's 
appeal to the states for additional troops met with slight response and his army 
had less than half the number of men he hoped for, so that the assistance of the 
Comte de Grasse was imperatively necessary to any offensive measures. The 
long awaited assurance of this assistance arrived on the fourteenth of August 
and caused an immediate change in the plans of the allies. The admiral announced 
that he would sail from Santo Domingo on the thirteenth of August with from 
twenty-five to twenty-nine ships of war, and in addition to their crews, three 
thousand two hundred men from the garrison of the island and a liberal equip- 
ment of artillery of a most effective character ; that he would proceed to Chesa- 
peake Bay, and that as he must return the men to the garrison in the fall it 
would be necessary to hasten to the utmost any proposed operations. He also 
announced that he had arranged to bring from Havana one million two hundred 
thousand livres in specie. On the receipt of this joyful intelligence the Com- 
mander-in-chief determined to move the combined armies to Virginia with all 
possible speed and his first care was to despatch a courier to the Marquis de La 
Fayette acquainting him with the Comte de Grasse's intention and urging upon 
him the necessity of holding Lord Cornwallis in a position unfavorable to retreat. 
He left La Fayette to surmise the part the Northern army would take in the 
operations as it was unwise to risk the possibility of giving General Clinton an 
inkling of his contemplated withdrawal from New York. 

Leaving General Heath with a small force to protect the Hudson river he 
made a detour of New York with the remainder of the troops, about two thou- 
sand Continentals and four thousand French, to make it appear that he was 
moving on Staten Island and by this means deceived General Clinton until they 
were in a position to head directly for Philadelphia without fear of interception. 
While the army was marching to the head of the Elk General Washington went 

30 



ahead to arrange for supplies and then, inviting the Comte de Rochambeau and 
the Marquis de Chastellux, his companions, to accompany him, he paid a short 
visit to Mount Vernon, which he had not seen since he left it six years before to 
take command of the Continental army at Cambridge. At Philadelphia they had 
received word of the arrival of the Comte de Grasse which was soon followed by 
information of the juncture of troops under Field Marshal the Marquis de Saint- 
Simon with those of General La Fayette at Williamsburg. 

Soon after his return to Portsmouth, Lord Cornwallis had embarked his 
troops, as directed by General Clinton, and was preparing to take them to New 
York when an order was received from his superior countermanding that for 
their return, and taking the General to task for having given up his ground on 
the James river, at the same time instructing him to take a favorable position 
between the York and the James where the fleet could be protected. As General 
Clinton had previously expressed a preference for Yorktown for such an estab- 
lishment, and as surveys convinced General Cornwallis of its superiority to Old 
Point Comfort, which had also been recommended, he set sail around the penin- 
sula and disembarking at that point began the erection of fortifications. To La 
Fayette, who watched their departure with interest, it appeared likely that Balti- 
more was the objective point of the British, and he hastily broke camp at Mal- 
vern Hill, and, calling in the detachments which he had posted to prevent a 
retreat of the enemy to North Carolina, he started for Fredericksburg, but on 
reaching Richmond learned that the fleet had entered Yorktown Harbor and con- 
tented himself with stationing General Wayne near Westover, while he took a 
corresponding position on the Pamunkey river. From here he wrote to General 
Washington — whose courier had not yet reached him — that he was confident that 
a considerable change had been made in the plans of the British, and that while 
there were points of advantage in the location at Yorktown and opposite in 
Gloucester, it would result happily for the Americans if a French fleet should 
make its appearance at this time. He also wrote that he was exercising great 
caution as "His lordship plays so well that no blunder can be hoped from him to 
recover a bad step of ours." His observation in regard to the fleet was based only 
on the general knowledge that one was likely to be in West Indian waters, and 
when a little later he learned that it was actually coming to his aid his spirits 
rose to a high pitch of enthusiasm. 

On the receipt of General Washington's letter he communicated it to General 
Wayne and ordered him to proceed to Westover and prepare to cross to the south 
side of the James, where he would be in a position to embarrass any attempt of 
the British to reach North Carolina, and he then, in accordance with General 
Washington's instructions, sent dispatches by Colonel Gimat his friend and former 
aide-de-camp, to Cape Henry to be delivered to the Comte de Grasse immediately 
upon his arrival. He had as yet no knowledge of the coming of General Wash- 
ington himself, but he was happy in the prospect of the substantial aid of the 
French fleet and the troops with it, and he was prepared to waive any question 
of his own rank as commander, to obviate possible friction in the union of the 
forces. Happily he was not called upon to do this, as the Comte de Saint-Simon 
though holding high rank in the French army, insisted on taking a place subordi- 
nate to the American commander, when, a few days later, the ships appeared, and 
the troops, which were immediately reembarked for the passage up the James, 
went into camp at Jamestown Island, under the protection of La Fayette's guns. 
The latter's triumph was now insured and the hard work and skillful strategy' 
of the long and unequal campaign for the possession of Virginia were rewarded 
with the knowledge that Lord Cornwallis was securely confined in his ill chosen 
position. Since receiving General Washington's dispatch. La Fayette's chief anx- 
iety had been to prevent the British from making a sudden retreat to the south- 
ward, but now, thanks to the forces at his disposal, all danger of this was past 
and he recalled the outlying divisions that guarded the roads and passes, and 
moved his camp to a strong position at Williamsburg, but a few miles from the 
enemy. Early in the summer Lord Cornwallis had written to General Clinton, 
"The boy cannot escape me," but now with the "boy" and his forces only a few 
hours' march from his camp he felt unequal to attacking him, and after a recon- 
noissance settled down to the completion of defensive works at Yorktown and 
Gloucester, hoping for reinforcements from New York to relieve his situation. 

31 







■'~'^\ - ^T^^"^*^ ■ 



GOV. NELSON'S HOUSE, YORKTOWN 

OCCUPIED BY THE BRITISH AND BOMBARDED BY ORDER OF ITS OWNER 

The Comte de Grasse, out of regard for his obligation to return to San Do- 
mingo, wished to begin the attack at once, but in compliance with La Fayette's 
earnest solicitation, and in deference to the latter's superior knowledge of the 
situation, he consented to await the arrival of Generals Washington and Rocham- 
beau — whose movements were now known — and their armies. He had reached the 
Chesapeake on the thirtieth of August and on the fifth of September he was chal- 
lenged to battle by Admiral Graves, who had succeeded Admiral Arbuthnot at 
New York and who left there with his fleet in search of the Comte de Barras, 
who, in connection with the movement on Yorktown, had left Newport with his own 
ships and a large fleet of transports loaded with the supplies and heavy artillery 
of the Comte de Rochambeau, and whose departure had been discovered. The 
Comte de Grasse at once put to sea for greater freedom of action, and a battle 
ensued in which, as with that of Admirals des Touches and Arbuthnot, no deci- 
sive victory was obtained on either side, but which seriously disabled some of the 
British ships, one of which had to be abandoned and destroyed. Admiral Graves 
was forced to retire to New York, and the Comte de Grasse although still strong 
and in an advantageous position was content to return to Chesapeake Bay after 
waiting some days for a renewal of the engagement, as in view of the responsi- 
bilities of his position he wished to take no unnecessary risks. On reaching Cape 
Henry he found that the Comte de Barras had safely arrived while the opposing 
fleets were off the coast, having escaped Admiral Graves by a wide detour. This 
welcome reinforcement assured a sea power ample for the occasion, and the 
transports were at once unloaded and sent up the bay to the head of the Elk to 
bring down the waiting troops. 

General Washington, with the Comte de Rochambeau and the Marquis de 
Chastellux having resumed their journey from Mount Vernon, arrived at La 
Fayette's headquarters at Williamsburg on the fourteenth of September. The 
reunion was momentous for the Marquis as he not only had the joy of being again 
with his beloved friend, but he was relieved from the strain and responsibility of 
his previous sole command, which, especially in its necessity of procuring provi- 
sions, had caused him much anxiety. The Comte de Grasse sent the "Queen 
Charlotte," a luxurious craft which he had captured from the British, to bring 
General Washington and his companions to his flagship, and they spent several 

32 



days there in pleasant and necessary intercourse, the highest military honors 
being paid to the Commander-in-chief on his arrival and departure. On his 
return to camp he found among his dispatches one announcing the arrival of 
Admiral Digby at New York with six ships of the line and additional troops. 
He at once sent this information to the Comte de Grasse, who, alarmed 
by this access of power and fearing the return of Admiral Graves with this rein- 
forcement, determined to abandon the Chesapeake which he feared would be 
blockaded, and await their possible arrival outside the Capes. This decision 
blasted instantly all hopes and plans that Washington had cherished since leav- 
ing New York, and changed the certainty of victory to the almost equal certainty 
of Cornwallis' immediate escape by water to his former strong position at Ports- 
mouth. To prevent this crushing misfoi'tune Washington despatched La Fayette 
to the flagship with a most strenuous appeal for a reconsideration of the decision 
urging the Marquis to use his influence to the utmost to the same end, and the 
messenger had the pleasure of returning to Williamsburg with the promise of the 
Admiral to remain and carry out the original plan. The allied troops had now 
arrived from the head of the Elk and joined those at Williamsburg, and imme- 
diate preparations were made for attacking the British position. 

On the twenty-eighth of September the American troops and their allies 
marched from Williamsburg and took up positions surrounding Yorktown. The 
following day they advanced to within firing distance of the enemy's outer works, 
and on the morning of the thirtieth they entered these, the British having aban- 
doned them during the night and retreated to the central fortifications. The French 
ships were drawn up in the river opposite the town, and with the troops stead- 
ily closing around him. Lord Cornwallis' position was becoming very serious and 
he hurriedly sent messengers to New York for aid. General Clinton had dis- 
covered too late the error of his orders and had hoped to relieve the post, but the 
best he could do was to promise to despatch a fleet under Admiral Digby, with 
five thousand land troops and ample provisions and supplies. Cornwallis believed 
that he could hold out until the arrival of this succor and it was arranged that on 
hearing heavy firing at the mouth of the bay, he should send up two columns of 
smoke to indicate his continued occupation of the town. This time however all 
elements combined for American success and the help he looked for came too late. 

With the Americans under La Fayette on the right, and the French troops 
on the left, Washington after a week of preparation fired the first gun of the siege 
on the morning of the seventh of October. The fire was kept up with increasing 
severity until the eleventh, when a second parallel, but three hundred yards from 
the enemy's fortifications, was opened. The British had suffered severely, many 
of their guns being silenced, and on the fourteenth Washington determined _ to 
force two outlying redoubts by which the inner works were protected, and which 
in his hands would make the reduction of the latter easy. One of these was 
assigned to the American Light Infantry under La Fayette and the other to the 
regiments of Auvergne and Gatinos under the Baron de Viomenil. The detach- 
ments, with fixed bayonets, charged simultaneously in the face of a destructive 
volley, and in a few minutes the Americans, led by the gallant Lieutenant Colonel 
Alexander Hamilton, had scaled the parapet and taken their redoubt, the British 
throwing down their arms as the Americans entered. The French commander 
had expressed a belief that only his troops would succeed in the undertaking, 
and as he was not yet in possession of his redoubt, La Fayette, jealous of Amer- 
ican valor, immediately tendered his assistance, but the Baron answered for the 
unaided ability of his men and a little later announced his similar victory. Two 
days later the British, made desperate by the destructive fire from these points, 
attempted to regain the redoubt held by the French, but were repulsed and driven 
back to their works with great loss, and as a last resort Lord Cornwallis under- 
took, under cover of darkness, to remove his troops to Gloucester Point. A rising 
storm defeated this purpose — of doubtful merit at the best — and he was obliged 
to bring back the few who had reached the other side, and resign himself to the 
inevitable end. On the seventeenth of October he opened his negotiations for 
surrender, and on the next day, the articles, which, at La Fayette's suggestion, 
were the same as those imposed on General Lincoln at Charleston, were signed. 
On the nineteenth the British troops, resplendent in new uniforms, marched out 
between the French and Americans drawn up in lines, and laid down their arms, 

33 




THE SURRENDER OF CORNWALLIS' ARMY, YORKTOWN, OCT. 19, 1781 

FROM THE PAINTING BY TRUMBULL, IN THE CAPITOL AT WASHINGTON 

their bands playing "The World Turned Upside Down," a then popular air. 
Lord Cornwallis kept his tent, giving illness as an excuse, and sent his apologies 
by General O'Hara, who delivered his sword to General Lincoln. 

Although General Clinton still held New York and had posts at Charleston 
and Wilmington, Cornwallis' surrender was recognized as the virtual end of the 
struggle. General Washington, hoping to regain the Carolinas while his troops 
were flushed with victory, desired the cooperation of the Comte de Grasse in the 
reduction of Charleston, or at least the aid of his ships to transport reinforce- 
ments under La Fayette to General Greene, but satisfied that he had accomplished 
all that should be required of him under the circumstances of his visit to the 
American coast, the French Admiral felt himself obliged to deny this request, 
and La Fayette, seeing no further opportunity for active service, obtained General 
Washington's permission to visit Philadelphia and petition Congress for leave to 
return to France to spend the winter. This request was immediately granted 
and resolutions were passed eulogizing his services in Virginia and accrediting 
him to the Ministers at Versailles as a qualified representative of the United 
States in matters pertaining to its needs. He was also made the bearer of a letter 
to King Louis XVL and the frigate "Alliance" was again designated to convey him 
across the Atlantic. He sailed from Boston on the twenty-third of December, 
1781, and after a very short voyage landed in France, where the account of his 
triumph had preceded him and he was received with high honors. 

The youth whose high resolution had prevailed over royal bans, had, by 
force of his manliness and proved abilities, passed from indulgent recognition 
in the American army to enduring fame in its history, and gained the irrequit- 
able affection of the people of his adopted country. His expected return to 
service under Washington was deferred at the request of Franklin, who greatly 
appreciated his help in securing the many benefits still required of France, and 
the termination of the war found him thus engaged. 

Firmly established in the esteem and affection of all classes in his native 
land, he settled down to the quiet joys of his family life, little knowing how soon 
these were to give place to the turbulence and anarchy, separation and bereave- 
ment of the yet unheralded French Revolution. Before this second era of his life 
however, he crossed the ocean once more to visit his beloved friend General Wash- 
ington, with whom he spent some weeks at Mount Vernon in the fall of 1784, and 
then, after a tour of a few of the scenes of his activities, he bade him a final fare- 
well and sailed from Boston on his return to France. 

34 




GUARD 
OF SWORO 
PRESCNTCO TO LA FAYCTTC BT CONGRESS 



At an age when young men customarily enter upon active life, La Fayette 
returned to the affairs of his native country, mature in experience and flattered 
with exceptional distinction. The monarchy of France, undermined by the ex- 
cesses of three reigns, though still exhibiting the habitual appearance of strength, 
tottered on the verge of a revolutionary abyss. Excessive taxation and despotic 
rule exhausted and prostrated the producing classes and raised discontent almost 
to resistance, while the revenue thus extorted was inadequate to meet the require- 
ments of national obligations and royal extravagance. Louis XVI and his luxu- 
rious court lived only for display and private gratification, while one after another, 
ministers of finance sought in vain to supply their ever increasing demands. The 
American Revolution, so generously aided, had drained the treasury to the danger 
point and the only hope of recuperation lay in wise administration and radical 
economy. The former was available and the latter had been repeatedly urged 
but such was the influence of the nobles whose patronage was menaced that no 
headway could be made in this direction, and added taxation of the people was the 
only resource applauded. 

Turgot, whose wise reforms were unpalatable, was succeeded by Necker, who 
also brought skill and high purpose to his office and inspired confidence in the 
people. He in turn was forced to give way to M. de Calonne, who revived an 
appearance of prosperity by negotiating ruinous loans, but who, toward the end 
of 1786, was obliged to announce the virtual bankruptcy of France, and realizing 
that retrenchment was imperative, urged the King to call together an Assembly 
of Notables in the hope that this body could and would impose such measures. 
La Fayette, although in disfavor with many of his class because of his liberal 
tendencies, was made a member of the body thus instituted and proved its most 
potent influence. The Assembly recommended minor reforms and having inves- 
tigated Calonne's record, secured his dismissal, but it could not be brought to 
indorse the pleas of La Fayette for the abolition of wasteful ceremonies and 
patronage, and the equitable distribution of taxation. Realizing the futility of 
its further deliberation he startled the Assembly and the Court by calling for the 
convocation of the States General — a memory of a less enthralled France of 
nearly two hundred years before. Louis agreed to do this and named the year 
1792 for the inauguration, hoping that in the meantime public confidence would 
be restored and that the Government would then be in a strong position, but 
dissatisfaction continued and he was obliged to issue the summons for May, 1789. 
This was in thought and deed the actual beginning of the revolution that engulfed 
France in the most barbaric tumult of destruction that history has recorded. La 
Fayette looked forward to radical changes in the system of government but he 
believed that these would come peaceably as a result of philosophic influences, 
and with his innate and cultivated love of liberty he placed himself in the fore- 
front of every movement to secure its blessings for his countrymen. 

At the appointed time deputies to the number of twelve hundred, represent- 
ing the nobility, the clergy, and the people — or Third Estate — elected by their 
peers after an exciting campaign, assembled at the church of Notre Dame de 
Paris, and the next day at Versailles were received by the King and addressed 
by Necker, reinstated Minister of Finance. The adoption of methods of proce- 
dure occupied several weeks and but for the insistence of the Third Estate upon 
its right, numerical and political, to dominate and constitute the body parlia- 
mentary, effective organization would have been impossible as the Nobility and 
Clergy, though separately less in number, claimed the right to vote as bodies 
which thus combined could defeat the people. In the end, however, they were 
obliged to accept the organization of the Third Estate and vote as individuals. 

35 



La Fayette had been elected to represent the nobles of Auvergne and he found 
himself in an anomalous position as in this contest his sympathies were with the 
people. While he was considering the resigning of his seat to seek election to 
the Commons, his dilemma was solved by a royal order commanding the Nobles 
and Clergy, many of whom had already gone over to the dominant body, to recede 
from their position and join the popular organization. This ascendency of the 
people was reflected by rioting at Paris and Versailles, and the impending civil 
conflict was hastened by the concentration of the King's troops to quell these 
disturbances. The first and most important act of the Assembly was the con- 
sideration of a "Declaration of Rights" introduced by La Fayette which formu- 
lated on a high and enlightened plane the rights and dues of the people, and 
which became the basis of subsequent enactments. 

Notwithstanding his ambition to lead in the parliamentary emancipation of 
his countrymen, which was assured by his being elected Vice-President of the 
"States General," La Fayette was destined for other and more strenuous activi- 
ties and he was soon called from the Assembly to the command of a body of 
Militia called the National Guard, organized to subdue the more violent 
elements of the populace which the royal troops were unable to control. In this 
position, with the rapidly growing tendency toward anarchy, he soon became the 
most prominent figure of the revolution, and, until the final upheaval, when, in- 
toxicated with power the ascendent terrorists threw off all restraint and shed 
noble blood in rivers, he was the only one capable of standing effectively between 
royalty and the clamoring mob. 

The necessity for this organization was made manifest by the uprising at 
Paris which followed the dismissal of Necker from the Ministry to which he had 
been returned to gratify the people. His plans were too radical for the Court, 
and with other ministers favorable to the popular interests he was requested to 
secretly depart. The news of this and the presence of German troops, which 
the King had brought to overawe malcontents incited them to riot, to quell which 
the Provost of Merchants, the nearest to recognized authority, was called on to 
enroll a civic guard which armed itself from the public arsenals and later under 
the badge of the tricolor proposed by La Fayette, became the National Guard. 
The opening day of this enrollment was signalized by a demonstration around 
the hated Bastile, the hitherto impregnable prison where for centuries had lan- 
guished justly or unjustly the offenders of royalty. Throughout the night the 
mob continued to gather and on the morning following, the memorable four- 
teenth of July, began an attack which late in the afternoon compelled its surren- 
der. Its fall and demolition symbolized the extinguishment of royal power and 
oppression, and its anniversary has become the chief national holiday of France. 

The task that La Fayette found awaiting him was diflScult almost to the 
point of discouragement. The line between mob domination and the supremacy 
of his motley National Guard was so precarious and doubtful that order and dis- 
cipline were matters of passing impulse and influence, sometimes yielding to his 
exhortations and again surging uncontrollably in an opposite course. With Jean 
Sylvain Bailly, formerly president of the Assembly, now appointed Mayor of 
Paris, he shared authority transcending that of the King, whom indeed it was 
given him later to direct and eventually to arrest. 

In the States General the Comte de Mirabeau led the debate and strove for 
the enactment of a constitution on which to base a reformed political system, 
while in the faubourgs and the "Palais Royal" — a popular forum — "Sanscullotism" 
banded for pillage and destruction. Destitution and hunger are grievances on 
which a mob can speedily be raised and a throng of determined women moved 
by these incentives, gathered at the Hotel de Ville on the fifth of October, 1789, 
and routing a company of the National Guard took possession of the building. 
To get them out it was proposed, insincerely, to lead them to Versailles, and a 
citizen named Maillard seized a drum and led the way, followed by the "Menads" 
who enlisted or impressed every member of their sex, of high or low degree, who 
came upon the scene, and not to be swerved from their course straggled in a noisy 
and ever increasing horde — followed by sympathizers of every description — over 
the fifteen miles of muddy road in a drizzling rain, to the royal palace where they 
demanded bread. La Fayette, starting some hours afterward, arrived about mid- 
night with his National Guard, which from fear of its loyalty under such con- 

36 




ditions he had kept in Paris until 
the King's danger became evident. 
He reassured Louis and the As- 
sembly, which was still in session, 
and about five o'clock in the morn- 
ing retired for a short rest having 
been without sleep for twenty- 
four hours. He had hardly lain 
down when he was recalled to the 
palace by a conflict which was pre- 
cipitated between a party of ma- 
rauders and the Life Guards, and 
which, but for his presence and the 
services of the National Guards, 
would have resulted disastrously 
for the royal family, whose apart- 
ments were invaded by a mob. 
Later in the day he gave public 
evidence of the devotion to the 
King and Queen, and his popu- 
larity caused them to be received 
with cheers, the people dispersing 
on his assurance that they would 
accompany him to Paris. Under 
his escort they were taken to the 
Tuileries, followed peaceably by a 
procession of one hundred thou- 
sand, and although no personal 
restraint was as yet exercised 
they were from that time virtu- 
CHURCH OF NOTRE DAME DE PARIS ally prisoners. 

IN WHICH THE STATES-GENERALCONVENED, MAY 4,1789 The DUC d'OrleanS, COUSin Of 

Louis XVI, dissolute of character and a recognized enemy of the King, was sus- 
pected of complicity in the attack at Versailles and was forced to retire to England 
by La Fayette, whom all parties acknowledged as the savior of the royal family. 
Following the Insurrection of Women, the Assembly— which to be near the Kmg 
had transferred its place of meeting to one of the halls of the Tuileries— while 
enacting the constitution abolished lettres de cachet, an arbitrary form of arrest, 
proclaimed ecclesiastical estates confiscated to the Government, and on the basis 
of this property issued eight hundred million francs in paper assignats. This 
reckless expedient caused the final resignation of Necker, who in response to pop- 
ular clamor had been again recalled to the Ministry of Finance. Religious orders 
were suppressed, taxes on salt and corn repealed, jury trial instituted, and all 
titles of nobility abolished, with which last decree La Fayette, who had urged its 
adoption, consistently complied although in later years other regimes brought a 
general return to monarchial titles. 

At this time a new menace to rational administration made its appearance in 
the Rue St. Honore where a club called the Jacobins, from the religious order 
whose convent they occupied, gathered nightly to the number of a thousand or 
more and promulgated incendiary doctrines. Its membership included the most 
radical and unprincipled leaders in the Assembly, and to counteract its effects 
La Fayette organized an association called the Feuillans or Moderates, which for 
upwards of a year and a half held it materially in check, but which was then dis- 
persed by the flight of a majority of its members during the events leading to the 
Reign of Terror emanating from its rival. 

To fittingly celebrate the anniversary of the taking of the Bastile and thereby 
cement the bonds of patriotism and brotherhood, a grand fete was planned for 
the fourteenth of July, 1790, when all National Authorities should swear allegiance 
"to the King, to Law and to the Nation." By the voluntary labor of the inhabit- 
ants of Paris of both sexes and all ages and ranks, the Champ de Mars, a spa- 
cious plain set apart for military manoeuvres, was transformed to an immense am- 
phitheater with an impressive altar and festooned colonnades and arches. On the 

37 




HEADQUARTERS OF THE JACOBIN SOCIETY 

THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE REIGN OF TERROR 

morning of the festival, La Fayette, who was master of ceremonies by virtue of 
the temporary command of the National Guard of France delegated to him by the 
King, arrived at the head of a procession of sixty thousand federalists, soldiers 
and deputies, and after the celebration of mass by the Bishop of Autun and three 
hundred priests, amid the booming of cannon, he descended from his horse and 
presenting himself at the throne received from the King the form of the oath, 
which he carried to the National Altar and pronounced to the assembly of five 
hundred thousand persons, his words echoed by the Army, the President of the 
National Assembly, the Deputies and the King. "Liberty, Equality, and Frater- 
nity" reigned throughout the day and night, and promised a future free from 
strife and intrigue, but the sun of another day brought its paramount emotions 
submerging the glorious federation in new and greater animosities. 

On the twenty-eighth of the following February a mob from the Faubourg 
Saint Antoine, the most lawless district of Paris, attacked the prison at Vin- 
cennes under the leadership of Santerre, a brewer subsequently to become more 
ignobly prominent. Before they succeeded in liberating the prisoners La Fayette 
arrived and put them to rout. While he was thus occupied he was summoned to 
the Palace of the Tuileries, some five miles distant, where it had been discovered 
by the National Guard that all the dependents of the King, rallying as by arrange- 
ment, were armed with daggers. It probably was to defend the King should the 
Saint Antoine mob descend on the Tuileries that this arrangement was made, 
but the Guards professed to believe it a conspiracy to abduct Louis, and before 
the return of La Fayette they had disarmed and violently ejected the courtiers. 

Following closely upon these alarms the National Assembly and the true 
cause of the people lost an heroic figure whose influence for good was second 
only to La Fayette's. This was the Comte de Mirabeau, whose motives were often 
questioned, whose methods were resented, and whose private character was 
assailed, but whose public acts were the embodiment of strength and wisdom, a 
force and a balance on occasion, and whose continued activity would have tem- 
pered Jacobinism. He died on the second of April, 1791, and was buried on the 
fourth, amid general and sincere mourning and demonstration. 

Toward the middle of this month the announcement was made that the King 
for the benefit of his health would pass the Easter season at Saint Cloud, the real 

38 




THE STORMING OF THE BASTILE, JULY 14, 1789 

ITS FALL AND DEMOLITION WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF THE FRENCH 

REVOLUTION 

reason of his excursion being his desire to receive the ministration of a priest 
not sworn to the new civil orders, which, in common with many devout Catholics, 
he regarded as an infringement on moral and ecclesiastical rights. On the eight- 
eenth of April, in accordance with this plan he started in his state carriage but 
was immediately stopped by a crowd that blocked his way. La Fayette hastened 
to the scene, and, appreciating the delicacy of his motives, offered to open a 
passage at any cost, but the King would not permit the attempt, and leaving the 
carriage returned to the palace. The suspicion that the King was about to flee, 
though unjust on this occasion, was however warranted, and preparations were 
then making for the event. On the evening of the twenty-first of June the royal 
family with trusted attendants left the Palace of the Tuileries and in several 
closed carriages were carried northward where the support of the army defending 
the frontier was depended upon. The undertaking was badly managed and at 
Varennes the heavy coach containing the King and Queen was blocked by an 
obstructed bridge which suspicious town officials, warned by intelligence now sent 
broadcast, had piled with wagons and lumber. Close by, on the other side 
of the bridge, was an advance guard of the army, sent to meet the ref- 
ugees, but its commander, a son of General Broglie, one of the King's most 
trusted officers, had, owing to the lateness of the hour, ceased to look for them, 
and retired for the night. Thus detained, where deliverance was looked for, the 
party was overtaken and arrested soon afterward by a company of National 
Guards and escorted back ignominiously to Paris to be more closely guarded until, 
a year later, after a few months' freedom following the acceptance of the con- 
stitution they were imprisoned in the Temple, from whence after predetermined 
trials they issued to the guillotine — Louis XVI on the twenty-first of January, 
1793, and Marie Antoinette on the sixteenth of the next October. 

Early in September, 1791, after the Federation and the flight to Varennes, 
the long-looked-for Constitution was completed and accepted by the King, and 
the Constituent Assembly — formerly the States General — having finished its work 
terminated its sittings and dissolved. Its last acts decreed the King exempt from 
punishment for his attempted flight, and, on the initiative of La Fayette, author- 
ized the freeing of all prisoners held for offenses growing out of the Revolution. 
The proposal to absolve the King from responsibility for his flight aroused bitter 

39 



antagonism from the Jaco- 
bins, and before it was en- 
acted a petition to the Assem- 
bly urging his dethronement 
was started on the altar at 
the Champ de Mars and 
signed by a multitude of Jaco- 
bin sympathizers, who having 
created a disturbance were 
fired upon and dispersed, sev- 
eral being killed — by the Na- 
tional Guards under La Fay- 
ette and by the authority of 
Mayor Bailly, who proclaimed 
them guilty of disorderly con- 
duct. With the dissolution of 
the Constituent Assembly, La 
Fayette resigned his com- 
mand of the National Guards, 
which he avowedly held only 
to preserve order until the 
Constitution should be estab- 
lished, and retired to his home 
in Chavaniac taking with him 
a sword forged from bolts of 
the Bastile and presented as 
a token of the esteem of his 
Guards. With all others of the 
better classes he believed the 
destiny of the nation happily 
settled and he looked forward 
to peace at his country estate. 




NATIONAL FEDERATION IN CHAMP DE MARS 

JULY 14, 1790 

The Constitution from which so much was expected failed unmistakably, 
however, to fulfill its mission and the new Legislative Assembly elected under it 
lacked the capacity of its predecessor, whose members had specifically decreed 
that none of their number should be eligible to membership in the new body. 
Internal troubles appeared and multiplied, and early in 1792 these were aug- 
mented by a declaration of war against Austria. This brought La Fayette again 
to the front, as at the request of the King he was appointed to command the 
Army of the Center, one of three divisions of the French forces, with headquar- 
ters at Maubeuge, in Flanders near the Prussian frontier. From his camp at 
this place he wrote to the Assembly, in part as follows, denouncing the instigators 
of the high-handed violences which were rending his country: — "Can you dis- 
semble even to yourselves, that a faction (and to avoid all vague denunciation) , 
the Jacobin faction, have caused all these disorders? It is that which I boldly 
accuse — organized like a separate empire in the metropolis, and in its affiliated 
societies, blindly directed by some ambitious leaders, this sect forms a corporation 
entirely distinct in the midst of the French people, whose powers it usurps by 
tyrannizing over its representatives and constituted authorities." The Jacobins, 
in consternation at this arraignment, declared the letter to be forged, on which 
La Fayette left his army and appeared at the bar of the Assembly to repeat with 
emphasis his accusations and plead for the respect and authority guaranteed 
the King by the Constitution. In this he was too late, as a mob which invaded 
the Tuileries on the twentieth of June on the pretext of petitioning the King to 
withdraw his vetoes of two revolutionary decrees, had hopelessly violated the 
dignity of the royal presence and foreshadowed the repression and dethronement 
soon to follow. Realizing that the Constitution was practically overthrown. La 
Fayette, who still enlisted an ardent following, planned to remove the royal family 
to the frontier, pledging the protection of his army, but the King with fatal per- 
versity refused his good offices and he reluctantly returned to his command. 

Insurrection had now infected outlying districts and a body of its votaries 
to the number of five hundred marched from Marseilles and were received as 

40 



heroes in Paris on the eve of the anniversary of the Federation, which was re- 
peated in a mockery of its former spontaneity. Frightened by La Fayette's 
denunciation, the Jacobins endeavored to secure his impeachment by the Assem- 
bly but were outvoted two to one and were forced to adopt more radical measures 
to overthrow the Moderates who still cherished the Constitution in name. They 
had for weeks sought in vain for some apparent provocation by the Court which 
could serve as a rallying cry for the Faubourgs, and crystallize insurrection that 
would dethrone the King. The supporters of La Fayette were now insulted with- 
out and within the Assembly, and under the leadership of George Jacques Danton, 
who exhorted the people to rise and save themselves from external and internal 
enemies, an uprising was accomplished which, invading the Tuileries, forced the 
King to seek protection of the Assembly, and massacred the valiant Swiss, who 
alone of all his constitutional defenders had remained loyal and efficient until his 
subservience to his dictators caused him to order them to cease resistance. The 
King was declared dethroned, and with his family was imprisoned in the Temple, 
while the Court and the Constitutionalists sought safety in flight. Aristocrats 
active and passive, for no reason but their presumed sympathy with royalty, were 
by hundreds thrown into prison, many to be delivered only when the tumbrels car- 
ried them to the guillotine under the decrees of the September tribunals. 

When the intentions of the revolutionists were obvious, La Fayette had sent 
messengers to again implore the King to avail himself of the protection of the 
army, but he was once more rebuffed and his plan becoming known he was de- 
nounced as a traitor and enemy of the people. Under the style of the Commune 
of August 10th the Jacobins usurped the government of Paris, and still fearing La 
Fayette's popularity sent commissioners to conciliate him with ofl^ers of high 
office if he would ally himself to their cause, but on their arrival at Sedan he 
caused them to be arrested and imprisoned, paying no heed to their overtures. 
He renewed his army's oath of fidelity to the Constitution but deputies from Paris 
soon corrupted it, and realizing that further effort was useless he gathered a few 
of his most intimate friends and set out for Belgium from whence he could make 
his way to England or America. To do this they were obliged to cross the path 
of the Austrian army, to which they had recently been opposed, and one of the 
party went to headquarters to obtain the necessary passports. These would have 
been immediately forthcoming but for the fact that the presence of La Fayette 
was noted, and as he was regarded by foreign courts as the instigator of the Revo- 
lution the whole party was arrested and taken to the fortress of Wesel where the 
rigors of the confinement in a damp cell prostrated their leader. He was told that 
his condition would be ameliorated if he would give information to aid the Aus- 
trians, but as he spurned this offer he was treated with greater severity. After 
some months at Wesel the prisoners were transferred to Magdebourg, where 
they were placed in dungeons and debarred a sight of the sky or each other for 
nearly six months, when, it being evident that life could not be maintained under 
such conditions, they were given a daily airing in the court yard. 

While La Fayette languished in prison, events moved rapidly in France. Suc- 
cessively lower elements of Jacobinism gained control through the imprisonment 
or execution of former leaders. The King and Queen were executed, Marat, one 
of the most venomous and unprincipled instigators of anarchy, was assassinated 
by virtuous Charlotte Corday; Danton was guillotined to make way for Hebert, 
and he in turn to elevate Robespierre. The war of La Vendee, in southern 
France, engaged hundreds of thousands, and the guillotine and even shooting 
being inadequate to dispose of the prisoners of the revolutionists, thousands 
were drowned, men, women and children together, penned in hulks that were sent 
to the bottom of the Loire. Madame de La Fayette and her children were arrested 
and would have been executed but for the intervention of Gouverneur Morris, 
American Minister to France, who also advanced a large sum of money to relieve 
the distress of the family, many of whose estates were confiscated and whose 
revenue was cut off. The Marechale de Noailles, grandmother of Madame de La 
Fayette, the Duchess d'Ayen her mother, and the Vicomtesse de Noailles were car- 
ried to the guillotine together, and the loss of these beloved intimates added 
greatly to her other misfortunes. 

With the tide of war favoring the French against the Prussians and Aus- 
trians it was deemed wise by the coalition to remove La Fayette to Austrian 

41 



territory, and he was taken to Olmiitz where his hardships were further increased 
and he was told that his identity would be forever lost in a prison number by 
which he would be designated in all communications and records, as he was re- 
garded as most dangerous to monarchial institutions and it was desired to reduce 
him to political if not actual death. During these years of imprisonment his 
friends in Europe and America petitioned frequently for his release without 
other effect than to further convince his captors of his importance to the cause 
they sought to crush. One of his old friends, however, the Comte Lally-Tollendal, 
made the acquaintance in London of Dr. Erick Bellman, a Hanoverian who had 
aided in the escape of other French prisoners, and Dr. Bollman, who was an en- 
thusiastic admirer of La Fayette, agreed to undertake his release. 

In the autumn of 1794, some six months after the General had been taken 
to Olmiitz, Dr. Bollmann, having learned that important personages were confined 
in this prison, went there and by means of a professional acquaintance with the 
physician who attended him, he conveyed to La Fayette information of his plan 
of rescue. With Dr. Bollmann was associated Francis Kinlock Huger, a son of 
Col. Benjamin Huger who had first received La Fayette on his arrival in America. 
They learned that owing to his low state of health the prisoner was taken each 
day on a short drive under guard, and they planned to intercept his carriage, and 
taking him by force to carry him hastily to the town of Hoff, where a carriage 
would be stationed to bear him out of the country. To avoid suspicion the execu- 
tion of this arrangement was delayed for some months, during which Dr. Boll- 
mann visited Vienna, but eventually everything was ready, and as La Fayette 
and a guard were walking behind the carriage on a country road, the attendant 
was overpowered and La Fayette placed on horseback with a hurried direction in 
English from young Huger, to go to HoflT. The guards in the carriage, instead 
of assisting their fellow, drove rapidly away and but for the escape of one of the 
conspirators' horses during the attack all would undoubtedly have been well. As 
only two horses could be brought, it was some time before the rescuers could re- 
cover this one and proceed to Hoff, and on their arrival they found no trace of 
the fugitive. The attempt had therefore failed 
and it was learned afterward, that, in the haste 
of the admonition. La Fayette had understood 
that he was to go off and had taken a road which 
eventually brought him to the village of Jagers- 
dorfF, where he was detained as a suspicious per- 
son, and two days later carried back to Olmiitz. 
Huger and Dr. Bollmann were very soon appre- 
hended and they were held in prison, chained to 
the walls of their cells, for eight months, with 
sentence of death threatened, when they were 
released through the intercession of the Count 
Metrowsky, a generous nobleman living near the 
prison, whom they had never seen but whose 
sympathies were aroused by their predicament. 

Madame de La Fayette had been again ar- 
rested at her home at Chavaniac and carried to 
Paris to await execution, when the counter- 
revolution of "Thermidor," the July of the new 
style, sent the dreaded Robespierre to the guillo- 
tine to which he had consigned so many, and the 
Jacobins being finally deposed in the revulsion of 
popular feeling, their prisoners were generally 
released; Madame de La Fayette did not imme- 
diately profit by this delivery, however, and it 
was some months before she was freed, and then 
only through the efforts of the American Minis- 
ter. Distracted by her afflictions and her in- 
ability to communicate with her husband, she 
determined to go to Austria and plead in his be- 
half. She took her two daughters, her son George 
Washington La Fayette having been sent to 




KEY OF THE BASTILE 

Presented to Washington by La Fayette 

Now at Mount Vernon. Reproduced 

by permission 



42 




the care of friends in America, 
and made the journey to Vienna 
by way of Hamburg, where she 
was aided by the American con- 
sul, Mr. John Parish, who gave 
her passports under the name of 
Madame Motier of Hartford, 
Connecticut. Through the influ- 
ence of the Prince de Rosenberg, 
a family friend, she was received 
by the Emperor, who declared it 
impossible to liberate her hus- 
band but who granted her request 
to be allowed, with her children, 
to share his captivity. She there- 
fore went at once to Olmiitz 
and, without premonition, the 
doors of his cell opened and he 
beheld those whose continued ex- 
istence was his dearest hope, but 
whom he feared he should never 
again be permitted to see. For 
two years the family were thus 
together, Madame de La Fayette 
and the children occupying an 
adjoining cell and spending much 
^_^_^________ of each day with the General, 

LA FAYETTE, COMMANDER NAT'L GUARD Tr!;;ZT'l.'''iSi'''!o^l^. 
METROPOLITAN ART MUSEUM. BY PERMISSION Madame de La Fayette suffered 
extremely however from the confinement and neglect of the prison, and after 
having been there nearly a year begged permission to go to Vienna for the 
benefit of her health, but on being informed that she might depart never 
to return, she resigned her considerations of personal welfare for the happiness 
of her husband, and remained with him until in September, 1797, they, with his 
companions in the flight from Maubeuge, were released on the demand of Napo- 
leon Bonaparte, who at the head of the French army had driven the Prussians 
from his adopted land and now menaced Vienna while dictating a treaty, one of 
the most imperative and strenuously resisted provisions of which was this de- 
livery of Frenchmen who were even then unacceptable to France. This con- 
sideration was largely brought about by violent agitation of the matter in England 
where prominent generals and members of Parliament, his former enemies, united 
in his behalf under the spur of newspaper articles written by a French sympa- 
thizer. His friend Charles Fox appealed to the House of Commons in behalf of 
"that noble character, which will flourish in the annals of the world, and live in 
the veneration of posterity, when kings and the crowns they wear will be no more 
regarded than the dust to which they must return." 

For two years after his release La Fayette lived in exile in the Netherlands, 
his wife latterly returning to France to seek in their depleted estates relief from 
the financial embarrassment in which they now found themselves. In these straits 
two bequests from unknown admirers, amounting to twenty thousand dollars, 
were most happily received and provided amply until his own affairs were com- 
posed. Late in the fall of 1799 Napoleon, returning unexpectedly from Egypt, 
seized the government from the Directory and proclaimed himself First Consul 
on the foundation of the revolution of 1789 ; La Fayette took this proclamation lit- 
erally and conceiving himself safe in France, returned at once, but in so doing 
he incurred the enmity of the dictator, who feared that the great Constitutionalist, 
through his public spirit and popularity, would endanger his plans for the subver- 
sion of authority, of which the protestation of republicanism was but a trans- 
parent cloak. La Fayette had no desire, however, to again enter the struggle, 
and aside from the giving of advice when sought, and holding himself in readi- 
ness to rejoin the army if his services should be required, he took little part in 




THE CHATEAU LA GRANGE: LA BRIE, NEAR PARIS 

LAFAYETTE'S LATER HOME, HIS ONLY REMAINING ESTATE AFTER THE CONFISCATIONS 

OF THE REVOLUTION 

affairs, and retired to the tranquillity of his wife's estate of La Grange, which was 
to be the home of his declining years. Here he devoted himself to retrieving in a 
small way his scattered fortunes, and paying, as he was able, the debts incurred by 
loans to his family while he Avas in prison. Agriculture was his fixed occupation, 
and charity and intercourse with friends his cherished pleasures. Many illus- 
trious visitors from other lands made the pilgrimage to La Grange to renew treas- 
ured acquaintance, or to testify their respect for his noble character. Napoleon 
held him in high personal regard, though constantly fearing the possibilities of his 
popularity and unwavering patriotism, and he sought in many ways to enlist him 
in his cause, but without avail. La Fayette hoped for a Napoleon without self- 
ishness, but he clearly saw that the great General's power would be used for his 
own aggrandizement, and in disappointment he remained silent and aloof. 

From this retirement he emerged to become a member of the Representative 
Assembly when Napoleon, returning from Elba, reestablished himself on the 
throne and palliated his usurpation with constitutional professions. La Fayette 
was one of a committee of five who endeavored to prevent his reaccession, and 
at the end of the turbulent Hundred Days it was he who forced Napoleon's abdi- 
cation. For the last time, after long retirement, he lent his influence in national 
affairs in the revolution of 1830, when in the sanguinary outburst against 
Charles X, he was called to Paris and persuaded to accept the command of the 
National Guard, for which he was borne to the Hotel de Ville on the shoulders of 
his friends. After a few days of bitter struggle Louis Philippe was set upon the 
throne, to be coldly received by the assembled people until La Fayette became his 
sponsor, and then enthusiastically applauded. He remained in reluctant com- 
mand of the National Guard, which was reorganized soon afterward, and ren- 
dered indispensable service, until, on the return of settled conditions he 
tendered his resignation, which was readily accepted by the distrustful monarch 
who viewed with repugnance his lieutenant's tremendous popularity. 

Not long after his retirement to La Grange La Fayette had the misfortune 
to slip on the ice while visiting the Ministry of Marine in Paris, and his hip was 
broken in the fall. He elected to endure the tortures of a newly invented appa- 
ratus for preventing the shortening of the leg in such cases, and for weeks en- 
dured his sufferings with such fortitude that the attending physicians were not 

44 



aware that the bandages were much too tight, and on the removal of these the 
muscles were found to be so mutilated that further operations were required, and 
it was feared that amputation would be necessary. He recovered however with 
but slight permanent lameness. 

His children married and made their home with him, and their children 
brightened the numerous circle at the chateau. The privations of his meager 
income were cheerfully borne by all, and were chiefly regretted because of the 
limits which were imposed upon their habits of charity, which nevertheless con- 
tinued to be a blessing to their humble neighbors. The great sorrow of the Gen- 
eral's life came upon him on Christmas eve, 1807, when Madame de La Fayette 
passed away. She had never been able to eradicate from her system blood poison 
which developed in the prison of Olmiitz, and now at the age of forty-seven it 
prosti'ated and overwhelmed her. While x*acked with pain and wasting from 
innumerable eruptions she maintained the buoyant and unselfish spirit that was 
her heritage and distinction, and the parting from her husband, as revealed in his 
tender tribute to her virtues, most fittingly and passionately crowned a life of 
love and devotion. While accepting his bereavement with the calmness and res- 
ignation characteristic of earlier adversities, he never ceased to mourn his loss, 
and devoted a portion of each morning to contemplation of her portrait, which he 
wore in a locket hanging from his neck. On the gold back of this were engraved 
these, among her last words to him : "Je vous fus done une douce compagne, eh 
Men! benissez moi!" 

There was yet reserved for him however a pleasure that it is given to few 
to enjoy, that of visiting in its assured prosperity a nation whose beginning he 
had labored for. In accordance with a resolution of Congress he was invited by 
President Monroe early in 1824 to visit the United States as a guest of the nation. 
The invitation placed a man-of-war at his disposal for the voyage, but he mod- 
estly declined this honor, and with his son and M. Levasseur, his secretary, sailed 
on the American ship "Cadmus" from Havre, July thirteenth of that year, and 
arrived at Staten Island on the sixteenth of August. 

Welcomed with every conceivable honor, he traversed, for more than a year, 
the length and breadth of the country, sustaining with hearty joy and remarkable 
vigor an ovation unabated from his landing at New York to his embarkation 
from the same port. Particularly affecting were his reunions with those of his old 
comrades whom the ravages of time had spared, and his pilgrimage to the tomb 
of Washington at Mount Vernon ; while, on the battlefields of other days he lived 
again the scenes of his early consecration to liberty. From New York, Boston 
was his next objective point, reached by way of New Haven, New London and 
Providence, and after his reception there and a visit to Harvard College, he 
continued east to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, stopping at Salem and Newbury- 
port, where a pleasant incident occurred which is thus reported in the New- 
buryport Herald of September third, 1824: — 

"Of the many veterans of the Continental army who were presented to the 
General none produced a stronger title to notice than Mr. Daniel Foster who is 

the only man in this town belonging to La Fayette's 
select corps of Light Infantry. He was a non-com- 
missioned officer therein, of course constantly about 
the General, and possesses now the very sword 
which the General gave him in common with other 
officers of that his favorite and most excellent corps. 
Mr. Foster held his sword before the General when 
introduced, with emotions of honest pride, and stat- 
ing the circumstances welcomed the General to our 
shores and told him that he was proud to see him 
once more on American soil and that his sons par- 
ticipated in the joyful occasion. When La Fayette 
learned that one of his own infantry stood before 
him, who had commanded his quarter-guard, and 
when he saw his own mark on the blade of the 
sword, half drawn from the scabbard, he greeted 
his old soldier very cordially and assured him that he 
looked upon him as one of his own family." 

45 




•.■■;«*^2S 



LA FAYETTE PITCHER 

Independence Hall, Philadelphia 

Reproduced by permission 



LAFAYETTE ^ 



He returned by way of Hartford to New York, where on September sixth, 
his sixty-seventh birthday, the Society of the Cincinnati gave a banquet in his 
honor. From that city he set out for Philadelphia, stopping at Trenton for a 
brief visit to Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon I, who had been his sincere 
friend in France, and from Philadelphia he went to Baltimore and Washington 
with many halts at intervening places. Virginia, teeming with associations of 
his memorable campaign, welcomed him with unbounded gratitude at Yorktown, 
Williamsburg, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Richmond, and Petersburg. Charleston, 
Savannah, and New Orleans echoed his welcome, the latter city especially, with 
its large French population, receiving him with pride as well as affection. He 
passed safely through a shipwreck on the Ohio river on which occasion the cap- 
tain's chief regret, notwithstanding the loss of his vessel and a large sum of money 
on board, was the jeopardy in which he had put the nation's guest. In June, 
1825, he again visited Boston and on the seventeenth of that month, just fifty 
years after the famous battle whose echoes had reached him at Metz, he laid the 
cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument and received the eulogy which Daniel 
Webster, the orator of the occasion, included in his memorable address. 

Many years before. Congress had allotted to him, in Louisiana, the large tract 
of land which under the system of reward for Revolutionary service was due his 
rank of major general. Soon afterward, and before he had entered upon this 
grant, the land was inadvertently included in a cession to the city of New Orleans, 
to which it was adjacent, and although La Fayette was advised that he could 
hold it by reason of prior title he refused to antagonize any American interest 
and renounced his claim. On his return to Washington after touring the coun- 
try, he was received in state by Congress, and as a recompense for the conversion 
of his land, as well as a national testimonial, he was presented two hundred thou- 
sand dollars, appropriated by a unanimous vote of all parties. 

La Fayette returned to France on the United States frigate "Brandywine," 
arriving at Havre on the fifth of October, 1825. His journey to La Grange was 
marked by popular ovations in spite of attempted repression by the Government, 
which was ever watchful for incipient revolution. The years immediately follow- 
ing his return from America were passed quietly at La Grange, his influence be- 
ing continually manifest, however, through his advice, which was constantly 
sought by leaders of the Assembly. He was journeying to visit his son at Chav- 
aniac when the forebodings of the revolution of 1830, previously noted, reached 
Auvergne, and his modest excursion was changed to a triumphal march by the 
people, who instinctively looked to him for delivery from despotism. After his 
efficient service on this occasion, and his final relinquishment of the command of 
the National Guard, he served again in the Chamber of Deputies, and retained a 
measure of activity until his death at Paris on the twentieth of May, 1834. 

He was buried beside his wife in the Picpus cemetery which she had helped 
to establish as a resting place for the martyrs of the Reign of Terror, and his 
funeral was an imposing testimonial of the universal appreciation of his char- 
acter. Ministers, deputies, government officials, educational and philanthropic 
bodies, and his beloved National Guard, made up a vast procession which followed 
his remains, while the church bells of France and all surrounding countries where 
liberty was established in any degree, tolled throughout the day. 

In America Congress and the people, on learning of his death, adopted a 

badge of mourning, and the same honors were paid to his memory by the army 

and navy as had been paid to that of General Washington. John Quincy Adams 

delivered an address on his life and character before both houses of Congress 

and fervent eulogies were pronounced in all the cities and centers of the country. 

. His career lacked the culmination of such high office . 

Jf^ as is often deemed the measure and meed of success, Jr^ 

^J^ and his abilities were not extraordinary; but his ^ffl^ 

"^ gentle, steadfast, and unassailable character, and his "'I* 

high and unwavering devotion to the oppressed of two 

continents, gained for him a place in the affections 

of his contemporaries and the regard of succeeding 

generations, that transcends political sovereignty. 



46 




PORTRAIT ax ARY SCHEFFER 



PREISENTED TO CONGRESS BY LA FAYETTE 



THE LA FAYETTE 

Table Flatware illustrated on tlic following!: pages is a reproduction of a time honorr<l Colonial 
desifrn, the counterpart of many cherished heirlooms whose early owners were the matrons 
of the period of the Revolution. It is made in Sterling- Silver, 925/1000 fine, of substantial 
construction and sufiiciont variety for moderate or extensive chest combinations. 

TOWLE MFG. COMPANY, SILVERSMITHS 

Nl'WBURYl'ORT MASSACHUSETTS 



Chicago, Illinois j^^j 
42 Madison Street '■^w^' 



New York City 
17 M^UJJEN La_ne 



THE TOWLE MFG. COMPANY DOES NO RETAIL BUSINESS 

47 



Tea Spoon 
No. 11 



Tea Spoon 
Nos. 1), 15. 18 and 21 



Dessert Fork 
Nos. 28 and 56 



Table Fork 
Nos. 36 and 45 



Tea Spoon, P.M. 




^ 




TRADE MARK 



LA F AV ETTE 



Coffee Spoon 




Table Spoon 
Nos. 42 and ?? 



Dessert Spoon 
Nos. 28 and )6 




Pap Spoon 










49 



\ 



Gravy LaJle 





..^- 



0-i 



.\^^^" 



.J.\i 



-»*». 




X 



\\* 



\i\^ 



,s?°' 



,0^ 



.^ 



/ 


^\ 


> 




/ 

/ 




( '^ 


"A 


\ 






■ 


THADt MARK 








©CD 








LA FAVCTTE 


50 




; 




y 



.;# 





ugar Spoon 



Jelly Spoon Ice Cream Spoon 

Berry Spoon ' 




Small Olive Fork 



Pea Server 
or Ice Spoon 



Small Olive Spoon 




Confection Spoon 



Vegetable Fork 




Cucumber Server 




54 



Sugar Sifler 




Tnni;|t<i S'.T\'i' 




TBADE MARK 



LA r A V ETT E 





65 



Olive Fork 



Lettuce Fork 




Salad Fork 



Cold Meat Fork 





r\ 



i » 




TRADE MARK 



@G) 



LA rATETTE 




V i' 



Ramekin Fork 




11 



/ 




^ V 



TRADE MARK 



LA FAVtTTE 



Oyster Cocktail Fork 



Grape Fruit Spoon 




I' 




^ K I' 



Butter Knife 





58 



Berrv Fork 



Horse Radish Spoon 



Chow Chow Fork 



Iced Tea Spoon 





Butter Pick 

A 



Food Pusher 






\ 



■r^- 



■% f 



Oyster Fork 




\ / 



59 



Cheese Server, Small 

^ 



Jelly Server 



Cheese Server, H. H. 




French Dressing Mixer 



Sandwich Fork 




/ 




60 



Sauce Ladle 



M;i>'onnaise LaJle 



Tea CaJdy Spoon 



/^ 



/ 




Petite Child's Fork 



\, 




Petite Child's Spoon 






61 



JtK Cracker Scoop 




Pastry Fork 



/^ 




^ 






\ 




Individual Fish Fork 





. J 



62 



Sugar Tongs 



Tefc-a-tete Tongs 





Ice Cream Slice 
Plated Skel Blai 



Breakfast Spoon 
No. 2+ 



Breakfast Knife 
No. 2t 



Breakfast Fork 




Lemon Voik. 





I 



\ 



Chocolate Spoon 



()4 



Pickle Fork 



Beef Fork, small 




Individual 
Salad Fork, small 



Beef Fork, large 



i 



Individual 
Salad Fork, Lirfe 



~1 



/ 



\ \ I I' 



/ / / 



i 



iio 



y^ 







m 




f 



1 ^ 










Alci (. 
(Length n 


X inches) 


4tl 

1/ - 


iLen.t'di 14;>, 


inches) 


fc; 







ir 



Cinie 1-ork 



ll 



,^ 



Ij' 



Game Carver 



\ 



> 



> 



> 




^'^^1'!?^% 



y 



. Tea Knife 



Dessert Knife 




Fruit Fork, H. H. 
Plated Steel Tines 



Child's Spoon 



CliilJ's Knife 





Child's Fork 



r 



Cheese Scoop, H. H. 
Plated Scoop- 



jic-..s3 




I 






TRADE MARK 



LA FA V tTTE 





\ ', \ i 




Butter Spreader, Flat 




> 




A COMPLETE TABLE SERVICE. 



One of the fundamental principles of tasteful furnishing is that of unity. However 
beautiful in itself a thing may be, it cannot be gratifyingly used with other pieces unless 
in harmony with them. A dining table of the largest size is still small enough to be swept at 
a glance, and if that glance reveals incongruous diversity of motive in its service of silver the 
effect is far short of that where studied harmony blends the beauty of each piece into a digni- 
fied whole. 

The Towle Manufacturing Company has long recognized this need of unity and made 
possible its fulfilment by providing complete services for breakfast, tea, and dinner in its 
various Colonial patterns, of which the La Fayette is here illustrated. 

All of these pieces are of sound construction and worthy weight, which, joined to their ever 
pleasing simplicity of form, ensure lasting gratification. 





LA 


FAYETTE SERVICE. 


3°o7 


Asparagus Tray 


14% inches x 8'^ inches. 


9860 


Bacon Tray 


Length 11 "4 inches. 




3=36 


Baking Dish 


Diameter 13 inches. 


Height 2% inches. 


3^36 


Baking Disli. with cover 


Diameter 13 inches. 


Height 5 inches. 


5215 


Berry Bowl 


Diameter 8 inches. 




5077 


Berry Saucer 


Diameter 6 inches. 




8590 


Bottle Holder, 


Height 5 lit inches. 




3943 


Bouillon Cup, china lined 


Diameter 41;, inches. 


Height 2^i inches 


3943 


Bouillon Cup Saucer 


Diameter y)i inches. 




5427 


Bread and Butter Plate 


Diameter 6>i inches. 




597S 


Bread Tray 


Length 15 inches. 




4075 


Butter Dish 


Diameter 7 inches. 




9621 


Butter Dish, individual 


Diameter 3 inches. 




3757 


Candelabrum, 5 lights. 


Height 13 '4 inches. 




3737 


Candlestick 


Height 8 inches. 




9541 


Cake Basket 


Length 12 inches. Height 4 Jo inches. 





MEAT PLATTERS, EXTRA WIDE 

70 




SHOWING FRONT 



/ 



J*J^"" ^-^ 



TKA SK.T AND VVAITKR 7647 



4>S7 


Celery Tray 


3800 


Center Piece 


S150 


Cereal Saucer 


5383 


Cheese Dish 


.MOO 


Cheese Jar Holder 


3401 


Cheese Jar Holder 


8130 


Child's Bowl 


8130 


Child's riate 


7900 


Child's Caip 


6632 


Chop Dish 


5547 


Chocolate Pot 


S5S5 


Cocktail Mixer 


.■i94l 


Coffee Cup. china lined 


.394 1 


Coffee Cup Saucer 


5547 


Coffee Pot. A. I). 


7647 


Coffee Pot A 


7647 


Coffee Pot n 


5546 


Coffee Pot. petite 


5547 


Coffee Set Waiter A 


5547 


Coffee Set Waiter B 


5546 


Coffee Set Waiter 


9757 


Compote 


9758 


Compote 


5546 


Cream Pitcher 


5547 


Cream Pitcher 


7647 


Cream Pitcher 


3925 


Dessert Plate 


3926 


Dinner Plate 


4220 


Double Dish 


4243 


Egg Cup 


5336 


Entree Dish 


5337 


Entree Dish, covered 


533S 


Entree Dish, covered 


8086 


Finger Bowl 


8086 


Finger Bowl Plate 


4008 


Fish Platter 


5017 


French Dressing Bowl 



STEH LINn 



Length 14% inches. Width 6-^.,' inches. 

Height 14 inches. Width 1 1 '.^ inches. Length \- inches. 

Diameter 6 '.2 inches. 

Diameter 7 inches. 

Height 4|'^ inches. 

Height 5 '2 inches. 

Diameter 5 '^ inches. 

Diameter 7 inches. 

Height 3 '2 inches. 

Diameter 14 inches. 

Height 8 '4 inches. Capacity 2Vj half pints. 

Height Q^a inches. Capacity 3'., half pints. 

Diameter 2^^ inches. Height 2 V inche.s. 

Diameter 4% inches. 

Height 8''*i, inches. Capacity 2 half pints. 

Height 10% inches. Capacity 5 half pints. 

Height 9% inches. Capacity 4 half pints. 

Height 7 inches. Capacity i '4 half pints. 

Length 15 inches. Width 8 '4 inches. 

Width 7% inches. 

Width 6J4 inches. 

Width 8% inches. 

Width 9 '4 inches. 



Height 4- 
Height 5" 



inches, 
inches. 



Length 14 inches. 

Length 12 inches. 

Length i 2 inclies. 

Length 13 inches. 

Height 3^, inches. 

Height 4^ inches. 

Height 5% inches. 

Diameter 9 inches. 

Diameter 10 inches. 

Length 13 inches. Width y'^ inches. Height 4 

Diameter 1% inches. Height 2% inches. 

Length 13 inches. Width y'4 inches. Height ij^ inches 

Length 13 inches. Width 7 '4 inches. 

Length <)}i inches. Width 5 '4 inches. 

Diameter 4 y";; inches. Height 2 inches 

Diameter 5 { jl inches. 

Length 22 inches. Width 9 inches. 

Diameter 4V inches. 



inches. 



Height 4IS inches. 
Height 3'< inches. 



n 




CR E AM PITC W 



I'n'K A. 1>. COKFEK SF.r AND WAITKR 5546 



5018 French Dressing Bowl 

5019 French Dressing Bowl 
9347 Fruit Dish 

6S37 Cohlet 

S617 Hot Milk Pitcher 

85 1 2 Ice Bowl 

4381 Ice Cream Tray 

7647 Lamp and Stand 

4937 Mayonnaise Disli 

4938 Mayonnaise Dish 

4939 Mayonnaise Dish 
9S63 Meat Flatter 

9864 Meat Platter 

9865 Meat Platter 

9866 Meat Platter 

9867 Meat Platter 

9868 Meat Platter 

9869 Meat Platter 



Diameter 4-'i inches. 
I )iameler 5-'h inches. 



Length 12 inches. 
Height 6'k inches. 
Height 6\ inches. 
Diameter 1 1 inches. 
Length 14% inches. 
Height 5 '4 inches. 
Length 5 '4 inches. 
Length 6-!,' inches. 
Length 8 '„ inches. 
Length 12 inches. 
Length 14 inches. 
I .rnglh 16 inches. 
Length 18 inches. 
Length 20 inches. 
Length 22 inches. 
Length 24 inches. 



Width 8'., inches. 

Capacity H pints. 
Height 3i!j inches. 
Width Syi inches. 

Width 3^4 inches. 

Width 4^4' inches. 

Width s&.f inches. 
Width 6?f inches. 
Width 7»i inches. 
Width S»i inches. 
Width 9?i inches. 
Width 10% inches. 
Width 1 1 's inches. 
Width I2's inches. 



Height 2J4 inches. 
Height 3'* inches. 
Height 4 inches. 




/ \ .*' 




WATER PITCHER 6748 SYRl^p PITCHER AND TRAY 8537 WATER PITCHER 6747 
OVAL MEAT PLAT lERS 9863 9864 9865-9866-9867-986S-9869 



LA 
FAYETTE 



4» 





FRONT 
C R EAM 



A. 1). COKFKK SKI' 


S.S47 -^ 


9S70B Meat Platter, extra wkle 


l.englli 


12 inches. 


9S71B Meat Platter, extra wide 


Length 


1-1 inches. 


98726 Meat Platter, e.xtra wide 


Length 


16 inches. 


987JB Meat Platter, extra wide 


Length 


iS niches. 


9S74K Meat Platter, extra wide 


Length 


20 inches. 


gS75B Meat Platter, extra wide 


Length 


22 inches. 


9877 Meat Platter, with well, 


tree 





and feet 
Meat Platter, with well, lu-e 

and feet 
9SS5B Meat Platter, extra wide. 

with well, tree and feet 
Muttin Dish 
Muffineer 
Pepper Shaker 
Pepper Shaker 
Pep])er Shaker 
Percolator 
Punch Bowl 
Punch Bowl 



9S78 



3137 
-5'7 
S446 
8447 
8448 

7737 
69 1 o 
6') 1 1 



AND WAIIKR 55 17 A 

\\i<lth 7% inches. 
Width 9'h inches. 
Width io;'2 inches. 
Width 1 1 ?4 inches. 
Width 13 inches. 
Width 14 '4 inches. 



Length JO inches. Width lo-'j inches. 

Lengtli 22 inches. Witllli 11 v inches. 

Length 22 inches, Widlli 141 inches, 

Uianieter 9 inches. Height 4'„ inches. 

Height 53c; inches. 

Height 2!4 inches. 

Heigh; ;; '4 inches. 

Height 4 inches. 

Height 15 inches. Ca|)acity i) half pints. 

Diameter ij inches. Height 4'',, inches. Capacity jij 

Diameter i^ inches. Height (»',_. inches. Capacity 16 




pints, 
pints. 




ICK BOWL 8512 ASPARAGUS TRAY 3007 MUFFIN' 1)L-^I1 

liRKAl) AND liUTTKR PLATE 5427 ('HF.KSK JAR HOLDFR u'" 

TRAY 6588 SANDWICH PLATK 5457 CIIEESK DISH 53S3 



;'37 



73 




ta*Jf^ 



^V- 



ICE CREAM TRAY 4381 CANDELABRUM 3757 CHOCOLATE POT 5547 

COVERED ENTREE DISH S337 CANDLESTICKS 3737 

DOUBLE DISH 4-20 MAYONNAISE DISHES 4937-4938 

Diameter 2^.1 inches. 
Heij^ht 2 inches. 



6921 


I'lincii 


( 'up 




1 Iciglit 2 '4 inches. L 


39(>7 


Kuniekin Dish. 


cldua 


lined Diameter 3'.j inches. 


6570 


Rtjund 


'I'lay 




Diameter 7 inches. 


657. 


RouikI 


Truy 




Diameter S inches. 


f,57. 


Round 


Truy 




Diameter i) inches. 


657j 


Round 


Tiay 




Diameter 10 inches. 


657-1 


Round 


Tiay 




Diameter 1 1 '.^ inches. 


6S7^ 


Riiund 


Tray 




Diameter 13 inches. 


O376 


Kouiul 


Ti ay 




Diameter 15 inclies. 


6jSS 


Round 


Tiay 




Diameter 6 inches. 


65Sy 


Round 


Tray 




i->iameter 7 inches. 


6390 


Round 


Tray 




Diameter H^ Inches. 


6541 


Round 


liay 




1 liarneler m in( hes. 





^ 




COMPOTIER 9757 BACON DISH 9<S6o 

COVERED VEGETABLE DISH 4618 



ITSH DISH 4008 MUFEINEER 7517 

PEPPER SHAKERS 8446-8447-8448 



74 



LA 
FAYETTE 



r» 




BOL'ILLON CUP 3943 RAMEKIN 39O7 MEAT PEATIER 9S7S DINNEK IM.ATE 3926 

BERRY SAUCER 5077 DESSERT RLAI'E 3925 CDEEEE CVV AND SAUCER 3941 

INDIVIDUAL BUTTER DISH 9621 FINGERBOWE AND TRAY S086 

SERXTCE PLATE 3928 SERVICE PLATE 3929 'TEA CUl' AND SAUCER 3945 

TEA STRAINER AND STAND 3637 BREAD TRA\' 597S SALT CELLARS 8350-8351 



65^2 


Rouiul Tray 


I>iaineler i i '2 inciu ^. 




<'593 


Round Tray 


I)iameter 13 inches. 




6594 


Round Tray 


Diameter 15 inches. 




5455 


Sandwicli Plaie 


Diameter y inches. 




5456 


Sandwich Plate 


Diameter 1 1 inches. 


TR 


5457 


Sandwich Plate 


Diameter 12 inches, 




«j50 


Salt Uish 


Length 2% inches. 




S351 


Salt Dish 


Length 4 inches. 




S446 


Salt Shakei 


Height 2 '.., inches. 




S447 


Salt Sliaker 


Height i 'i inches. 




S44S 


Salt Shaker 


Height 4 inches. 




5716 


Sauce Tureen 


Height 4 inches. Capacity i-'i 


halt i)ints. 


5716 


Sauce Tureen Tray 


Diameter 7^.1 inches. 




5717 


Sauce Tureen 


Height 4>^ inches. Capacity j 1 


Kilf pints. 


5717 


Sauce Tureen Tray 


Diameter S''^' inches. 




jy^s 


Service Plate 


Diameter tj^.i' inches. 






b I EH LING 



r 






GRAVY TUREEN AND TRAY 5716 
OPEN VEGETABLE DISH 4619 



CAKE BASKET 9541 
FRUIT DISH 9347 

76 



CEREAL SAUCER 8150 
CELERY TRA\ 4157 



LA 
FAYETTE 



4* 





COVKREl) HAKINC DISH 



TURKF.V PLAITKR 9882 



TEA BELL 74^0 



BUTTER DISH 4075 HOT MILK PLI'CHER 8617 SWINGING KETTLE 7647 

( 1HI,D'S BOWL AND PLATE S130 FRENCH DRESSING BOWL 5018 

Uiameter 1 1 inches.'' 

Lenglli 24 inclics. Widlh 14 iiulies. 

Diameter 9 inclies. 

Length 1 1 '^ inclies. 

Heiglit 2^2 inches. trad 



jy-y 


Service Plate 


('r,>i 


Serv. Tray. Mahogany Hot ton 


5.! '7 


.Soup riate 


i("7 


Soup Strainer and Stan<l 


5546 


Sugar Bowl 


55-47 


Sugar Bowl 


5547 


Sugar Bowl, with cover 


76-17 


Sugar Bowl 


7647 


Swinging Hot Water Kettle 


'^S37 


Syrup I'itcher 


S5,;7 


Syrup Pitcher Tray 


7420 


Tea Bell 


3'M5 


Tea Cup. china lined 


.V'45 


Tea Cup .Saucer 


7647 


Tea Pot C 



Height 



inches. 



Height 4l< inches. 

Height 5^-^ inches. 

Height i4-'4 inches. Capacity 5 lialf pints. 

Height 6^2 inches. 

Length 6 inches. 

Height 2% inches. 

Diameter 3 }.j' inches. Height 2 '4 inches. 

Diameter 5I4 inches. 

Height S'"'., inches. Capacity 3 half pints. 





SOUP PLATE 5317 CHOP DISH 6632 

\ASES 2500-2501-2502-2503 



ENTREE DISH 5336 BAKING DISH 
TRAVS 6570-6571-6572-6573-6574-6575 



3226 



7i; 




rOFFKK I'OT 7647 
CHOCCILATK POI' 5547 
SU(;AR bowl 5547 



H R E A K F A S T K Q V 1 1 ' M p: N T 

TOAST RACK M 13 I'KI'PKR SllAKKR S44S 

KG(; Cri' 424.:; SUGAR I'.OWl, 7647 SAl/r SIIAKF.R 8448 
CKRKAL SAUCER 8150 SKR\TCI': TRAY 6348 



,56.57 
i)SS: 
C500 
2501 
2502 

= 503 
4618 
46M1 

ji.v 
(1247 

624S 
7647 
6747 
674S 



Tea Strainer ami Slaiul 

Turkey I'latlur 

Vase 

Vase 

Vase 

Vase 

Vegetalile Disli, coviit'il 

Vegetable Oish, open 

Walfle Dish 

Waiter (for fi-piece Tea Set 



Length 7 '4 inches 

Length 50 inches. Width I":",, inches. 

I leight 6 's inclies. 

1 leight 8 '4 iiulies. 

Height 10 '._, inches. 

Height 1 2;'g inches. 

Lengtli II inches. Width 6'*j^ ini iies. Height ^ im lies. 

Length 10 '4 inches. Height 2 '4 inches. Width (1 '4 inches. 

Diameter (j inches. Height 4'^ inches. 

Length 27 inches. Width 1,1 '4 inches. 
Waiter (for 7-piece Tea Set) Length 50 inches. Width 16 inches. 
Waste Bowl Height 3'':, inches. 

Water Pitcher Height 9',; inches. Capacity ; pints. 

Water Pitcher Height 11 ■'., inches. Capacity 5 pints. 





vS^' 




OK - 'i* 




I 



PUNCH BOWL 69 1 1 
PUNCH CUPS 6921 



COCKTAIL MLXLR 8585 BOTTLK 
CHILD'S CUP 7900 



HOLDKR 8590 (iOBLF.T 68,57 
BERRY BOWL 5215 



1 1 



APR i3 VM 




THE ARMOIRE 

Patektkd January 26, ipt2 

The Armoire here shown with La Fayette Service is a modern embodiment of an old institution, 
and it is perfectly adapted for the preservation and, as desired, for the harmonious display of a 
complete Silver Service for Breakfast, Luncheon, and Dinner. These pieces require to be fitted for 
the actual articles which they are to hold, and they are not offered for use with any but the wares 
made by the Towle Manufacturing Company. 

Floor space required for Armoire, four feet four inches wide, three feet six inches deep ; width 
with doors fully opened, eight feet; height over all, eight feet six inches. 







Almoml Sroop 

Armoiro 

Beef Fork, largi 

Reef Fork, smali 

JKoiry Fork 

Hnrry Spoon 

Bouillon LadI'' 

Booillon Spoo'i 

Bread Fork 

Breakfast Folk . 

Breakfast Knife No. '.'4 

Breakfast Spoon No '.'-' . 

Butter Knife . 

Butter Pick 

Butter Spreadii. J,. ;. 

Butter Spreaili'i-. flat 

Cheese Scoop, II. II., plalet! .sooo] 

Cheese Server H. II. 

Cheese Server, small 

ChiUi',s Fork . 

Chil.rs Knife 

Chilli's Spoon 

Choi'olate Spo.n: 

Chow Chow Fork . 

Coffee Sjioon 

Cold Meat Furl: ... 

Confection Spnf.i, 

Cracker Si'oop . . 

Cream Ladle .... 

Cueumber Server . 

Dessert Fork 

I)es.sert Knife 

Dessert Spoon 

Dinner Ware, etc. 7<l 

Fish Fork, iudividn.. 

Food IMislier . 

French Drossiii;.' Mi' ■ 

Fruit Fork, H. H., 

plated stee! tines, 
Fruit Knife, plated st.-vl hiade 
Game Fork 
Game Carver 
Came Shears 
(rrape Fruit Spot.). 
Gravy Ladle . 
Horse Kadisli Spooi 
Ice Cream Fork 
Ice Cream Spoon 
Ice Cream Sli'-er, II 

plated steel hlade 
Iced Tea Simon 
Ice Spuoi' 
.Telly Serv . 
Jelly Sp. 
Lemon 1 ■ 



5:1 

-ft 
»!."> 

i;5 

52 

4<) 
63 

(14 

r>4 

,w 

59 
09 
69 
69 
60 
60 

»;9 

69 
*i9 
64 
59 
48 
57 
54 
62 
51 
54 
48 
68 
49 
to 77 
62 
59 
60 

69 
69 
66 

(;6 
66 
.58 
51 
59 
58 



i\3 
,59 
53 
60 
52 
64 



Ti(>ttuce Fork 
Lettuce Spoon . 
-Mayonnaise LatUc 
Meat Fork 
Meat Carver . 
Meilitini Knife . 
^Mustard Sfiooi' 
Nut Spoon 
Olivo Fork 
Olive Fork, siii:i;, 
Olive Spoon . 
Olive SjJoon. small 
Oranjje Spoon 
Oyster Cocktail For! 
Oyster Fork . 
Oyster Ladle 
Tap Spoon 
I'astry Fork 
I'ea Server 
Petite Child's Fork . 
Petite Child's Spoon 
I'ickle Fork . . 
Pie Server, 11. H. 

plated steel blade 
Powdered Sugar Spoon 
Preserve Spoon 
Kainekin Fork ... 
Ro.ast Holder, laruu 
Salad Fork, individual, large . 
Salad Fork, individual, small 
Salad Fork 
Salad Spoon . 
Salt Spoon 
Sandwich Fork 
Sardine Fork 
Sauce La<lle . 
Soup Ladle 
Soup Spoon 
Steak C'arver 
Steak Fork 
Steak Steel 
Steel 

Sugar Sifter 
Sugar Spoon . 
Sugar Tongs 
Table Fork 
Table Spoon 
Tea <^addy Spoon . 
Tea Knife ... 
Tea Spoons . . 
Tea Spoon, P. ,M . . 
Tot<va-lete Tongs . 
Tomato Server ... 
Vegetable Fork 
Waffle Server 



in 

w; 

56 
61 
66 
66 
6S 
51 



tj8 
IW 
.Vl 
,il 
■19 
62 

61 

6) 



ni 
r>2 

58 

w> 

TO 
65 

57 
57 

51 



tiX 
l»> 
M 
52 
63 
48 

nl 
68 
48 
48 

6:i 

55 



I 






t^mim 




LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



011 711 418 1 




